{"id":777044681,"date":"2026-07-09T08:54:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:54:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777044681"},"modified":"2026-07-09T12:08:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T15:08:27","slug":"australia-launches-taskforce-to-combat-fake-online-gambling-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/australia-launches-taskforce-to-combat-fake-online-gambling-scams","title":{"rendered":"Australia launches taskforce to combat fake online gambling scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The new cross-sector unit will investigate \u201cscambling\u201d schemes and develop measures to protect consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Australia.- The National Anti-Scam Centre has established a new taskforce to tackle \u201cscambling\u201d, a term used to describe fraudulent online gambling and casino platforms that manipulate outcomes, withhold winnings or demand additional payments from users. The initiative brings together law enforcement agencies, regulators, digital platforms, banks, telecommunications providers and community organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports of \u201cscambling\u201d rose from 677 in 2024 to 806 in 2025, while reported losses climbed from around AU$449,000 (US$311,000) to AU$1.6m (US$1.1m). More than 45 per cent of reported losses last year involved consumers who identified as First Nations Australians. Authorities believe the true scale of the problem is much larger because many victims may think they simply lost money through gambling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chair Catriona Lowe said the new taskforce will seek to build a clearer understanding of the schemes and strengthen consumer protections. \u201cThe fusion cell\u2019s work will create a clearer picture of how the scams operate, the impact they\u2019re having on Australians, the factors that are enabling them and how they can be disrupted,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The taskforce will operate until December 9, 2026. Its findings are expected to be published in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> AUSTRAC orders bet365 to strengthen AML controls<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new cross-sector unit will investigate \u201cscambling\u201d schemes and develop measures to protect consumers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Australia's National Anti-Scam Centre has launched a cross-sector taskforce to combat \"scambling,\" fraudulent online gambling schemes that manipulate outcomes and withhold winnings. This initiative, involving law enforcement, regulators, and financial institutions, aims to enhance consumer protection against rising losses, particularly impacting vulnerable communities.","focusai_entities":"National Anti-Scam Centre, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Catriona Lowe","focusai_location":"Australia","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.8), affiliate_publisher (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.9), investor_analyst (0.8), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Impact on Licensed Operators?","query":"How might the National Anti-Scam Centre's 'scambling' taskforce differentiate between legitimate iGaming operators and fraudulent platforms, and what potential compliance burdens or reputational risks could arise for licensed entities?"},{"label":"Regulatory Collaboration Scope?","query":"What specific data sharing protocols and enforcement powers will be leveraged by the cross-sector taskforce, and how will this collaboration influence future regulatory frameworks for online gambling in Australia?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,24628,156,158],"tags":[289,24818,4138,25291],"class_list":["post-777044681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-highlight-of-the-week","category-regulation-news","category-slider-home","tag-australia","tag-gambling-scam","tag-online-gambling","tag-scams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777044681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777044681"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777044681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777044695,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777044681\/revisions\/777044695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777044681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777044681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777044681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}