Australian players protected under new law

The Australian government has announced new regulations for the iGaming industry.

Australia.- New measures have been recently approved by the Australian government in order to limit online gaming services. The National Consumer Protection Framework, which would become effective earlier in July, will establish further consumer protections on the national online betting platforms, including self-limitations when participating in official games.

Under the new framework that contains 11 measures, the government prohibits links between payday lenders and iGaming operators. The regulating package was approved last Wednesday in Melbourne. “The rate of problem gambling online is three times higher than elsewhere, and online wagering is growing by 15 per cent per annum. In the future, more problems will come from online punting unless we have better protections in place,” commented Human Services Minister Alan Tudge.

According to casino.org, national authorities will be issuing a self-exclusion register to offer gamblers the possibility to be automatically banned from gaming sites, deepen details will be announced next September. Furthermore, latest regulation establishes a pre-commitment scheme, which allows players to set their own conditions to participate in the regulated platforms.

Online gaming operators will no longer be able to offer “free bets” or lines of credit, as reported by the Australian. “We’re hopeful that in combination (the measures) will have a profound impact and people will still be able to enjoy a bet, but have greater control and less chance of getting into trouble,” explained to the newspaper Alan Tudge.