The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a fresh set of prohibitions aimed at gambling sites deemed to be operating unlawfully in Australia, including the well-known cryptocurrency gambling site Cloudbet.
The ACMA has pinpointed Cloudbet and Las Atlantis as brands that necessitate Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to their online platforms.
As per the ACMA’s statement, these websites breach the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 and are consequently illegally offering online gambling in Australia.
Since issuing its initial blocking request in November 2019, the ACMA’s blocking requests have led to the blocking of 619 illicit gambling and affiliate websites in Australia.
Moreover, since the ACMA commenced implementing new illegal offshore gambling regulations in 2017, over 180 illegal services have withdrawn from the Australian market.
The most recent bans follow the ACMA’s identification last month of a number of other websites operating without the requisite authorizations.
These brands encompass Spin Oasis, Fab Spins, RB Carnival, The GoGo Room, Velvet Spin, Zenith Slots, Slots of Wins, Latinbet24, Hell Spin, Sky Crown, Blue Leo, Wolf Winner, Bizzo Casino, Wabo88, and Ozbet88.
This week, in Australian news, the casino operator, Star Entertainment, was stripped of its operating permit and slapped with a hefty $100 million fine for failing to conduct its business responsibly in New South Wales.
Last month, Star Entertainment was deemed unfit to hold a casino license in New South Wales following an investigation that revealed the company’s shortcomings in preventing money laundering. The report also highlighted the company’s lack of social responsibility at its Sydney casino over an extended period.
These issues included facilitating individuals in circumventing Chinese regulations restricting the amount of money people can transfer out of the country by falsely claiming gambling funds were intended for hotel stays. The company also misled banks about these transactions and allowed individuals with potential ties to organized crime to manage gambling operations at its casinos.