Question
What actually is the interactive gambling act?
ok so i keep seeing this come up whenever people talk about online casinos here in aus. tried to read the wikipedia thing but my eyes glazed over lol. basically does this mean online pokies are illegal here or what? confused because i still see ads for betting sites everywhere
Best
306
right so the IGA (2001) basically makes it illegal for companies to OFFER online casino style games like pokies and table games to people in australia. but heres the kicker, its not illegal for YOU as a player to use them. they go after the operators not the punters. thats why sports betting and racing is everywhere with ads but you cant legally have an aussie based online pokies site. most ppl just end up on offshore sites that ignore the law anyway. i use Boomerang which is offshore and never had a drama with deposits or withdrawals, but yeah technically its a grey area on the operator side
147
can confirm what dazza said. been playing on offshore sites for years and never once got in trouble. the law is aimed at the businesses not us. as long as you stick to sites that have a decent reputation youre fine, the IGA doesnt come knocking on your door for having a spin
129
honestly the whole thing is a mess. they let you bet on the horses and footy all day long but god forbid you wanna play blackjack online. and because the legit local stuff is banned youre forced onto offshore sites where if something goes wrong you have basically zero protection. lost a chunk once and had no aussie regulator to complain to. great system
83
that's rough mate but tbh ive never had that problem. the trick is doing your homework before you deposit anywhere. i check reviews, payout times, licensing all that before i put a cent in. the offshore thing isnt ideal but plenty of these places are properly licensed in malta or curacao and pay out fine. sounds like you just picked a dud one
74
wait so youre all just admitting to using sites that are basically operating illegally in australia? idk that doesnt sit right with me. what happens if the govt decides to crack down and your money is stuck in some offshore account? seems like a big risk for a few pokies spins
83
the operators are the ones breaking the IGA, not the players. there's literally no penalty in the act for an individual punter. and the govt has had 20+ years to crack down on players and never has because it would be unenforceable. theyd have to chase millions of people. theyd rather just block the sites and call it a day
7
fwiw the act got amended in 2017 (the interactive gambling amendment) which tightened things up and basically forced a lot of the bigger operators to pull out of the aussie market properly. thats why some sites you used to be able to access just stopped accepting australians. acma also got powers to block sites and ask isps to filter them
41
so if i deposit money on one of these offshore sites and win big, can i actually withdraw it ok or does the bank block it because of the IGA? genuinely asking because im nervous about putting money in
38
yeah you can withdraw fine in most cases. sometimes an aussie bank might flag a gambling transaction but usually it goes through. a lot of people use cards, payid or crypto these days to avoid hassles. ive cashed out a few decent wins over the years with no issues, just make sure your account is verified first or theyll hold it up
3
worth noting the IGA also covers stuff like in play betting on sports (you cant place live bets online during a match, has to be over the phone or in person) which is why those betting apps make you call to bet live sometimes. its a weirdly specific law in some areas and totally hands off in others
30
yep this thread is spot on. ive been playing online for ages and the IGA has never affected me as a player once. the main thing is just picking a reliable site and reading the fine print on bonuses before you commit. been smooth sailing for me honestly, no regrets