• ACMA has gone after seven more websites that have been offering their products without a license in Australia
• The regulator continues to target websites that are breaching local laws and offering iGaming and other products without the necessary licenses
• ACMA has been working on rooting out illegal gambling by focusing on operators individually, but also reaching out to overseas regulators

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued new blocking orders against seven websites, which the regulator said have been operating in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

ACMA keeps pressure on the unregulated gambling sector

Australia does not permit online casinos, but despite this prohibition, the country has been targeted by thousands of domains.

In response to this, the watchdog has begun identifying and issuing individual blocking orders against websites, with more than 1,251 illegal gambling and affiliate websites banned as of today, including the seven newly-blocked websites.

ACMA had an early-day success against the unregulated sector by threatening to take legal action overseas, prompting 220 mostly licensed and established casinos to leave voluntarily in 2017.

The newly-targeted websites include Casiny, CoinPoker, Crown Play, Fafabet9, SlotFred, Smart 93, and Vigor Spin. Some of these websites have used mirror domains in order to access Australia, as they have been targeted before.

The offshore gambling industry, and especially that part that has been targeting the Australian market, has relied on the practice to ensure that if one website goes down, it’s able to set up shop elsewhere by using a mirror domain instead that offers the same offers.

ACMA, however, has remained unwavering in its commitment to track down individual domains and has been issuing blocks.

Uphill battle with no end in sight

Admittedly, though, there are thousands more websites, with more being added, that are on standby or already operating in Australia, and the way in which ACMA carries out its blocks is time-consuming.

The regulator has similarly tried to reach out to overseas counterparts to request assistance, such as authorities in Curacao, ensuring that none of the websites registered in the jurisdictions are actually targeting local players in Australia.

In previous enforcement rulings, ACMA has targeted websites that have breached the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER) – BetStop. In April, the regulator further blocked more websites that it had deemed to have been operating without the necessary license in the country.

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