32Red has joined the growing list of online gaming platforms withdrawing from the Australian market due to the country’s increasingly strict online gambling laws. Australian players will no longer be permitted to create new accounts, effective immediately.
This move mirrors similar actions taken by other major industry names such as William Hill, Vera&John, and 888 Holdings, all of whom have already ceased their Australian operations. PokerStars is also anticipated to follow suit should the pending legislation currently before Parliament be enacted. They have already started notifying users of the possibility of account suspensions and a stop to new registrations.
These regulatory shifts originate from the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, which seeks to take strong action against unlicensed online gambling providers, particularly those offering online poker. The bill, having recently cleared its third reading, suggests significant penalties, IP address blocking, and the creation of a blacklist of unauthorized operators. Sports betting, however, will remain permissible under the new law.
32Red, recognized for its online casino, poker platform, and sports betting services, has guaranteed its affiliates that they will, for the time being, continue to receive revenue share from existing Australian players.
Marketing collaborators have been instructed to take down advertising displays, hyperlinks, and other promotional content from their webpages. They’ve also been requested to cease all promotion of 32Red merchandise effective immediately.
Nevertheless, it’s improbable that the legislation will be put to a vote before the next Australian administration takes office in May 2017. This implies Australian poker fans can still partake in PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), which is on track to be the largest yet with an anticipated prize fund of $55 million.
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