deucem
Rock Star
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The Joint Select Committee inquiry into online gambling has finished it's inquiry and recommended that Australian players be banned from overseas poker sites.
In a somewhat surprising outcome the committee chair Andrew Wilkie has backed the recommendations of the Australian Productivity Commission to allow australian poker players to play on Australian based sites:
1.51 "In summary, I believe that while the IGA has been effective in limiting the provision of interactive gambling websites by Australian providers, the reality is that Australians continue to gamble on unregulated overseas websites. This exposes Australian consumers to risks. A better, safer alternative would be to allow a well regulated domestic market to operate and provide services to Australians.
1.52 I support the recommendation of the Productivity Commission to allow 'managed liberalisation' of online poker websites. An Australian domestic industry should be developed carefully with effective harm minimisation measures for online play as well as robust consumer protection measures.
1.53 In the model I support, if Australian providers were to be permitted to provide certain forms of online interactive gambling services, I believe that financial transaction barriers on overseas sites should also be put in place. Measures to block payments to overseas websites would be likely to steer most people towards the safer, well-regulated domestic sites. I recognise that such measures are not likely to achieve a total prohibition on Australians' access to overseas gambling websites, but would be likely to dissuade all but the most determined."
Mr Andrew Wilkie MP
Chair
In a somewhat surprising outcome the committee chair Andrew Wilkie has backed the recommendations of the Australian Productivity Commission to allow australian poker players to play on Australian based sites:
1.51 "In summary, I believe that while the IGA has been effective in limiting the provision of interactive gambling websites by Australian providers, the reality is that Australians continue to gamble on unregulated overseas websites. This exposes Australian consumers to risks. A better, safer alternative would be to allow a well regulated domestic market to operate and provide services to Australians.
1.52 I support the recommendation of the Productivity Commission to allow 'managed liberalisation' of online poker websites. An Australian domestic industry should be developed carefully with effective harm minimisation measures for online play as well as robust consumer protection measures.
1.53 In the model I support, if Australian providers were to be permitted to provide certain forms of online interactive gambling services, I believe that financial transaction barriers on overseas sites should also be put in place. Measures to block payments to overseas websites would be likely to steer most people towards the safer, well-regulated domestic sites. I recognise that such measures are not likely to achieve a total prohibition on Australians' access to overseas gambling websites, but would be likely to dissuade all but the most determined."
Mr Andrew Wilkie MP
Chair
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