Gambling in Australia – casinos, slot halls – is regulated at the national level. The only country in the world, which occupies an entire continent, can boast a very developed gambling industry. More than 80 percent of all adult Australians take part in gambling in one form or another. As residents of the country joke: “We are a nation of gamblers, because what else did our ancestors do on the ships while they sailed to Australia from Europe? According to statistics, Australians spend on gambling several times more per person than citizens of other developed countries, about $ 1200 dollars a year, of which the casino and slot machines $ 1020 (data for 2016-2017).
Up to 12% of state budget revenues, depending on the state, are derived from taxation of the gambling industry, the highest among high-income countries.
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal state consisting of 8 states and territories. Gambling regulation has traditionally been legislated at the state and territory level, not at the central government level. The operating conditions, laws and official regulators are different in each region.
The official regulators depending on the territory and the legislation under which gambling is regulated:
Besides on June 28, 2001 the “Interactive Gambling Act” regulating online casino activities was accepted by the Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth. The Australian government does not tax players’ winnings.
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There are dozens of casinos in Australia in all 8 states and territories. The distribution of establishments is very uneven. Most casinos in Victoria, 18 establishments with 405 gambling tables. In the largest city of Sydney there are 11 casinos and 635 tables. Meanwhile, the Northern Territory has only two land-based casinos – in Darwin and Alice Springs. The largest casino in the country is called Aquis Great Barrier Reef Casino, located in Yorkshire Knob, Queensland, there are 140 tables and 3,600 machines.
Australians use the slang word “pokie”, from “electronic poker machine”, to describe a machine for gambling for money. With the exception of Western Australia, pokies are allowed not only in online casinos but also in pubs, clubs, supermarkets and other venues. According to the Australian Gambling Statistics report, released annually by the Queensland regional government in cooperation with all state and territory governments in Australia, there are 196,000 “electronic poker machines,” more than 4,000 licensed establishments in the country. That’s about 1 machine per 900 to 1,000 adult citizens over the age of 18 eligible to play. For example, in East Gippsland County, Victoria alone, with a population of only 80,000 people, there are 332 “pokies” in 10 establishments and players spend $66816 dollars a day (data from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation).
The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 passed by the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia banned online gambling in the form of online casinos Australia and slots. The Interactive Gambling Bill 2016 banned the advertising and operation of any unlicensed online casinos located outside the country. Violators would have their IP addresses blocked, be blacklisted and face civil penalties. Since there are no provisions for issuing a license to offshore casinos, the law is obviously a direct ban on the operation of such operators. Nevertheless, there are no real obstacles for individuals located in Australia to play on foreign online casino sites, such as a ban on bank transactions, yet.