Australian Law For Online Pokies

In Australia slot machines are called pokies. Online pokies are extremely popular among players. Due to this, a number of websites are offering this fun gaming interfaces for gamers.

A Little about Online Pokies

Online pokies are a great source of entertainment. They come in all sorts of shapes, themes, and colors. People can choose the genre or theme they like best and play the game. There are so many websites out there that if a person does not find what he wants in one site, he can move on to the next one. Many websites offer free games to gamers.

They can play it for fun without betting any real money. As the games are online, people can play it anytime they are free. There is no need to go to an actual casino. The same gaming experience as a real casino is available from the online site. Other than pokies, the gaming rooms have all the regular card games and other such entertainment that is found in a real casino.

The Australian government's law is not exactly contusive toward online gambling in the country. They are further coming out with law that restrict the use of real money and make it a crime to play or offer games with real money betting involved for the residents of Australia.

Online Gambling Laws in Australia

In Australia, there is a law called the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which controls online pokies and other casino games. The basic aim of the act is to prevent Australian online casinos from offering "real money" to the gamers on their site. But, the law allows online betting on sports events and as well as online lotteries all through licensed people. Many people in the casino industry have been trying to make the Australian government to relax the rules and legalize online real money betting. The Productivity Commission in 2010 came out with a report that supports online poker machines and betting games. They recommended that the Australian gambling laws need to be relaxed.

They feel that the Australian law is far too stringent. According to a report given by the Productivity Commission, there is no need to restrict the use of real money. According to them, all that needs to be established is a mechanism where there will be pre-commitment by the gamers. This would make them responsible and spend only limited amounts instead of gambling away the money uncontrollably. The government is yet to accept the recommendations of the Commission.

There is a small loophole in the law. This is that although providing real money gambling to the "residents" of Australia is illegal, it is not illegal for them to log on from some other country and play the games for real money.

Despite the restrictions, the Australian online pokies industry is quite widespread and employs thousands of people. It also brings large amounts of revenue into the country. More and more websites are popping up which offer online gambling. With a little relaxation in the law, as suggested by the Productivity Commission, the industry will be more lucrative than it is at the time being.