Online poker could be a thing of the past
Playing poker online could be a thing of the past as authorities close in on illegal gambling sites.
Poker sites who are avoiding Australian legislation around gambling could have their services outlawed, with the Australian Crime Commission urging the federal government and Australian Federal Police to act.
Some Australian poker players have been able to earn up to $750,000 a year tax-free playing online poker, according to News Limited newspapers.
Now sources close to the ACC said that authorities have been told to "pull their finger out".
This comes off the back of US authorities taking action against the founders three of the largest poker websites, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, last month.
In Australia, fines of up to $1.1 million per day under legislation that bans the providing of online poker, bingo and casino games to Australians.
However, this has not been enacted in the ten years since the laws were brought in.
Digital Economy Minister Stephen Conroy said the government was looking into potential breaches, but admitted it was difficult for authorities to enforce the laws.
"As the internet is a cross-jurisdictional medium, it is difficult for Australia to enforce our laws on companies not based in Australia," a spokeswoman for Senator Conroy said.
"The Government continues to examine the regulatory approaches taken by other countries to online gambling to see what can be learnt about the best way to respond."
Problem gambling is a major issue in Australia. A recent report published in The Economist said that Australians were the highest gamblers in the world, spending around $1200 per year on gambling per person.
Acting ACC chief executive Karen Harfield said online gambling was a channel for criminal activity.
"Online gambling is a potential channel for money laundering and revenue and taxation fraud," she said.
"The ACC works with a wide variety of Government and law enforcement agencies to combat serious and organised crime, including money laundering. This includes working with international law enforcement agencies."
