The Federal Government's temporary ban on new Internet gaming licences will drive Australians on to unsafe foreign sites, the Australian industry warns. It argues that gambling in Australian online casinos is safer than betting in a bricks-and-mortar one.
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The government's surprise victory this week in passing its
12-month moratorium on new Internet gaming licences has inflamed a debate about
the future of Australian gambling.
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The 12-month moratorium has been debated for so long that it is
already half over - backdated to May this year, it will be lifted in six
months' time for the consideration of the long-term problem - whether to ban
Internet gambling altogether.
Opponents, including the Australian Democrats information
technology spokeswoman, Natasha Stott Despoja, argue that the moratorium is
useless, as its retrospective application to May pulls the rug out from under
existing operators.
Gaming giants such as situs poker online and
Federal Hotels agree. "This is almost criminal - to take a legal activity
and overnight make it illegal," said Greg Farrell, managing director of
Federal Hotels.
He is planning legal action against the government over the two
online casinos his company will be forced to close, at a cost of 20 Tasmanian
jobs.
Peter Coroneos, of the Internet Industry Association, said the
move was a misguided response to the gambling problems Australians experience.
"We're as concerned as anyone about the potential problems that online
gambling may present, but the fact is that this legislation seems a
disproportionate and ineffective response to a risk that is not even actual
yet."
The association claims only 0.6per cent of Australians gamble on
the Internet. "This will do nothing to prevent Australians from accessing
the 1000-or-so sites that operate overseas in unregulated systems," Mr
Coroneos said.
Baptist minister and anti-gambling lobbyist Tim Costello said the
industry was being "blatantly dishonest". "Their intention is to
phase interactive gambling in massively - what they want is licensing and
legalisation so they can advertise," he said.
"The industry is using the Trojan horse of saying `we just
want to protect Australians' as the vehicle to mainstream interactive gambling
and particularly, through mainstreaming, to advertise."
But Mr Coroneous said the move "will only add to the
perception that the Australian Government doesn't really understand the
Internet".
A spokesman for Communications Minister Richard Alston said the
industry should be interested in making the Internet a safe place for families.
"Since the introduction of ... (Internet anti-pornography)
legislation, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of families
accessing the Internet," he said. "This is an appropriate time to
look at Internet gaming because it's in its infancy."
Several states, including Victoria, have developed regulations
for licensing Internet gambling sites, which could become a rich source of
taxation revenue.
Web : https://www.rajakamar.com/
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