If national government can’t, the state one will strengthen oversight
According to the latest reports from West Australia, the state government has announced that if the federal government doesn’t tighten oversight and enforcement of current laws, the state may opt for the regulation of online gambling. The announcement has been made in a submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry into gambling, by the Western Australian Department of Gaming, Racing and Liquor.
It was assessed by the department that the state’s tough controls on betting have been undermined by the many flaws appearing in the Interactive Gambling Act, which proscribes that websites are not allowed to offer real money casino and poker games to Australian residents. In support of this claim, the department claimed that not a single company had been prosecuted for a breach in the 10 years since the ban was introduced, adding that it only stopped Aussie operators from offering services to local punters, not preventing players to access offshore sites.
Still, Western Australian support to regulation of online gambling would also depend on allowing individual states to "opt out" and ban operators from letting residents of that jurisdiction gamble online.
