The days of being able to use a credit card or cyber currency to gambling online in Australia have officially come to a close thanks to the implementation of the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2023. The ban is part of a larger, worldwide, effort to help curb the growing issue of problem gambling in an era where online gambling is more accessible than ever.
Australia’s gambling credit card ban has been in the works since September, when lawmakers approved amendments to the country’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001. Under the terms of the new rules, operators who continue taking credit cards can be fined up to $234,750 ($154,978). Enforcement of the new rules will fall under the authority of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which was granted new enforcement powers as part of the rule change.
Australia has been pretty aggressive in implementing and enforcing new laws aimed at curbing problem gambling. This ban on credit cards to fund online gambling follows a similar ban on credit card use at land-based casinos. Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP commented on the changes in a recent press release saying, “Australians should not be gambling with money they do not have…This ban builds on the significant progress to minimise gambling harm that the Albanese Government has made over the past two years, which is already benefitting thousands of vulnerable Australians.”
Operators were given a 90-day grace period to implement the changes, but there’s no clear indication of how the credit card ban might will impact Australian-facing operator’s bottom lines.