Australian Communications and Media Authority declares war on illegal online poker apps to promote regulation.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has instituted civil proceedings against two well-known local poker identities for allegedly operating illegal online poker services in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA).
According to information released by Acma on Tuesday, the men in question are Rhys Edward Jones, who allegedly provided banned online gambling services to Australians from March 2020 to March 2021, and Brenton Lee Buttigieg, who was involved in the promotion and direct customers to such services.
A company called Diverse Link Pty Ltd has also been named for providing such services since March 2021.
Acma claims to have taken action following a detailed investigation into banned online gambling services, which originally operated under the name “PPPfish” before being renamed “Shuffle Gaming” and then “Redraw Poker”. . These are supposed to be real money online poker services currently banned by section 5 of the IGA.
“Acm claims that since March 2, 2020, the services provided by Jones and then by various links have offered Australians the opportunity to play poker online for real money,” he said.
“Players join poker clubs via a mobile app, so they can purchase chips from separate websites, by bank transfer or bitcoin, which are then credited to their poker club account and can be used to play poker. The chips can then be redeemed with money or bitcoin.
The legal action comes amid moves by some companies and lobby groups to legalize online poker in Australia.
It is currently illegal to offer online poker or casino services to Australia under the IGA, although this activity has only been fully implemented since 2016, when the government passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill, which significantly increased penalties and penalties. enforcement actions available to the ACMA.
The maximum penalties payable by people who have violated the IGA are AU $ 1.67 million (US $ 1.2 million) per violation, while companies can be liable up to five times that amount.
