Casinos Online Quit Australia Gambling Market

Many online casino brands leave the Australian gambling market. GIG Affiliates, the affiliate program of online gambling company Gaming Innovation Group, announced that its iGaming brands will no longer be available to Australian players.

The announcement about GIG leaving the Australian market came shortly after the country’s government voted in favor of proposed amendments to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, its online gambling law. When the new regulations come into force, the provision of unlicensed online casino and poker operations will become illegal Down Under. What is more, it will be practically impossible for interested operators to apply for an iGaming license and to obtain one.

The real money casinos Guts, Betspin, Rizk, Thrills, Kaboo, and SuperLenny no longer accept Australian players from May 15.

Real money casino Vera&John left the local market late last year, at a time when the re-regulation effort had just been introduced, thus paving the way for other industry members.

888poker followed suit, shaking the Australian iGaming community seriously. The online poker brand of Gibraltar-based operator 888 Holdings announced its departure in January, citing the challenging regulatory environment in the country.

Another Gibraltar-licensed and headquartered company – 32Red – also pulled out from Australia. However, it did so after Australian MPs approved the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, the legislative piece that would overhaul the country’s online gambling market.

Gambling casinos leaving soon-to-be-regulated markets has become a growing trend in the iGaming space, particularly given the fact that more and more countries are closing doors to unlicensed operations. Operating in a regulated environment has been seen as an indication to one gambling company or another’s readiness to comply with laws, even though those may not be that much business-friendly.