Casinos accepting players from Australia
Online gambling laws here, in the land down under, are regulated by the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which is, unfortunately, not of the better ones for the operators. For example, Australians are not permitted to use any of the interactive gambling services, yet can engage in online gambling, even though with some serious limitations, as long as they are not a provider. The licensees are welcome to offer their services to the overseas residents as long as the targeting countries are not on the designated countries’ list. Moreover, even though the Australian government doesn’t tax gamblers’ winnings it does tax gambling operators instead. The amount of tax on the turnover, player loss and net profit differs between states as do license fees. The three main territories are listed below.
Australian Capital Territory is a territory in the south east of Australia and is the smallest of the two self-governing internal territories in the country. Even though the state has its own laws regarding i-gaming operations – the Interactive Gambling Act 1998 – the Commonwealth law described in the first paragraph overrides it and is effective until it ceases to operate. All in all, Australian Capital Territory is not as favourable as the other gambling jurisdictions in Australia because of higher tax rates and astronomical license fees. Its licensees must hold their players’ fees in a separate trust account, pass stringent software tests and define their own license duration, among the other mandatories. For more information, visit www.gamblingandracing.act.gov.au
Australian Northern Territory is the third largest Australian federal division that offers much less of a hassle and is quite a bit friendlier to the potential and existing licensees than what’s mentioned above. All gambling and licensing services are dealt by the Department of Business and operators rigorously tested for any criminal history. There are no set application or prescribed annual fees beyond the 4% negotiated tax rate. Because of the location some operators targeting Asia may find this jurisdiction well worth their attention. Some big names have chosen the Northern Territory in the past and done it successfully. For more information and FAQs please go to AU GOV section for gambling licensing.
