We Take a Look at the Interesting Legal Position of Online Gambling in Australia

Added: July 5, 2013

Australia is a pretty unique country in many ways, and this is exactly the case with the legality of online gambling within its borders. Where most nations either allow online gambling openly, allow locally licensed online casino sites to operate, or completely outlaw online gambling entirely, Australia takes a different path.

Back in 2001, the Australian Government passed what is known as the Interactive Gambling Act (IGA), and this single piece of legislature holds the entire legal framework of online gambling in place within Australia.

The Interactive Gambling Act is not typical of similar laws passed in other countries. In fact, it is the only one of its kind in the world. The IGA states that it is illegal for a company to offer online gambling services to Australian citizens. Nothing strange here, but it is the second part of the IGA that is odd. It also states that it is not illegal for Australian residents to use an online casino site. Yes you did read that right, it is illegal for a company to operate an online casino in Australia, but completely legal for a person in Australia to use an online casino.

What this means is, that Australian people can use an offshore international online casino sire for their online gambling. Sure, the company running the online casino is breaking Australian law, but they are not based in Australia, so there can be no repercussions.

Another oddity of the Interactive Gaming Act, alongside the validity of international offshore online gambling sites, is that sites that offer purely sports betting are also totally legal. By this, we mean that as long as the local online gambling site in Australia only offers sports betting, it is entirely legal for the company to operate in Australia without breaching the Interactive Gaming Act of 2001.

So, for Australian online gambling fans it’s all good news. International offshore casino sites are legal form a player’s perspective, even though it would be illegal for the online gambling company to operate within Australia if it were a local company. It is also entirely legal for a site to offer online sports betting, and operate totally within the letter of the law.

So as we can see, the legal position of online gambling in Australia is pretty interesting, and certainly unlike any other set of laws found anywhere else in the world.