This could all change very soon, as Andrew Wilkie, the Independent Australian Member of Parliament, wants to introduce a nationwide ban of social casinos through the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2020.
The goal of the bill is to reclassify social casinos and give them the same legal status as real-money online gambling platforms, meaning the participants and facilitators of such platforms would be required to pay monetary fines.
From the perspective of Parliament member Andrew Wilkie, social casinos are causing harm to participants; he believes they are an introduction to real-money betting sites and offshore casinos, which is true, to an extent.
Although they are free to play, social casino games include all the elements of real-money games and can be quite addictive. When a player sees their virtual chip count increase after winning a jackpot on a social game, it’s hard for them not to think about how much money they would have won if they were playing the game for real cash.
But do social casinos really cause harm to participants? Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many people use social casino games to relieve stress because they aren’t able to move around and perform their normal activities. They do this without losing any actual money in the process.
Opinions are divided, and the passing of this bill will surely not be greeted with joy by the tens of thousands of Australian players who visit social casino sites on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, the bill might have an overall negative effect, as most social casino players would now be forced to resort to offshore casinos, many of which accept players from Australia.
In addition, Wilkie’s critiques of the gambling industry are not exactly on a par with the opinions of other members of the Parliament, most of whom are now pushing for the early re-opening of land-based casino establishments as an effort to revitalise Australia's economy that took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the moment, we don’t know whether the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2020 will pass or not. For now, Australian players can enjoy playing pokies and other casino games on a wide variety of social gambling sites, but this could all change very soon.
Even though the country has always had restrictive views on online gambling, casinos have a large contribution to Australia’s economy. Gambling laws all over the world are getting more relaxed each year, so it’s natural to assume that Australia will be going in that direction as well instead of pushing for a more restrictive gambling landscape.
About the Author
