Australia is one of those countries which have proven that it has great demand for what online gambling has to offer. But there is nonetheless no provision in the law that allows for casino interests located in that country to offer their product to Australian residents. Thus far it has presented only minimal problem for consumers.
The official Australian gambling law, the Interactive Gambling Act, does not allow for any company that is based within the country to operate in the online gambling field. Part of the effect of such a law is to appease the very sizable land-based casino industry, which is run by some very powerful people. One of the results of the restrictions on operators is that poker apps for mobile devices are on the verge of being outlawed. It should be made clear that there are individual states within Australia, and those states are also allowed to have their own policies toward licensing and regulation.
The way it stands, it is illegal to advertise for online poker or casino games within Australia. This hardly reflects the demand that Australian residents have shown for the excitement online gambling and online casinos have to offer. It's just that they have had to go to operations outside the United States to satisfy themselves. And that is exactly what they do.
Actually, sports betting is not prohibited within the country on an online basis, and a couple of the very important companies in that arena have been Sportingbet and Tabcorp. Sportingbet has recently been purchased by William Hill, the British bookmaker that is looking to break into the market, which is valued at over $6 billion in Australian dollars annually. Clearly this is not a market to be taken lightly. And one of the things that the government is looking at is that there happens to be a lot of revenue moving outside of the country, enough that there has been given some consideration to licensing of operators who offer that online, although the sentiment is still to keep online casino games out of that mix.
Customers in Australia who are interested in playing online casino games most certainly have choices. And at Online Casino Lobby, we like to think we have done a good job at filtering through all the possibilities that are available. There are some great deals for Australians, and these include casinos that will take deposits and render bonuses in Australian dollars, and can also make it as easy as possible for Australian residents to deposit that money. With great customer support features that include 24-hour access and toll-free numbers for Aussie residents, there is a lot to look forward to. If you are one of these consumers, we want to be of help to you in finding the right place to play.