As the May 19 expiration of Australia's moratorium on Internet gambling expansion nears, and the federal government pushes for a bill that would prohibit online gambling Down Under, the Senate Committee on Environment, Communication, Information Technology and the Arts is once again accepting position papers from concerned parties. Verbal submissions are expected Friday, followed by the Senate's report to be issued May 23.
As expected, a large portion of those who submitted material expressed strong disagreement with the bill and/or the recent report from the National Office of Information Economy (NOIE), which many feel was basically a rubberstamp of Communications Minister Richard Alston's anti-interactive gambling agenda.
The Northern Territory Department of Industries and Business (NTDIB) stated, "The Northern Territory fully supports the objective of the Bill to 'minimize the scope for problem gambling among Australians.' However, the Bill creates a regime that will have the opposite effect and is more likely to exacerbate problem gambling than minimize it."
In addition, the NTDIB found it "unclear as to why (the federal government) has not accepted the findings of the Productivity Commission or the Senate Select Committee in relation to favoring regulation over prohibition, especially following the conclusions of the NOIE Report on the feasibility of blocking access to offshore sites."
The Federal Group, which had to close its online casinos shortly after launch to comply with the yearlong ban, was very blunt in its assessment, saying, "The handling of this whole issue by the Commonwealth Government has caused significant damage to the Federal Group, an Australian owned and
operated company."
The two sites, wrestpointcasino.com and countryclubcasino.com, operated under a license issued to the Federal Group by the Tasmanian government in July 1998. Further, the company calls the Interactive Gambling Bill 2001 "a piece of misguided and inappropriate legislation that actually fails to deliver its stated objectives."
Several companies are considering relocation and/or pursuing financial remuneration from the government, should the bill pass. For example, Canbet's submission concluded with this statement:
"When the Chairman of Canbet, Mr Richard Farmer, appeared before this Committee last August he was asked what plans he would be making during the period of the moratorium. His answer was that he would be looking to find an alternative location for the business. This we have done and it is
likely that Canbet Ltd will reluctantly move to the UK if the Bill passes in its present form. The UK Government has passed legislation to encourage bookmaking businesses to establish themselves there."
Canbet added that the company would likely seek compensation from the government if it should either shut down or relocate overseas because of the permanent ban.
The aspect to the bill that has engendered the strongest debate is whether the ban should encompass sports and race wagering. The Age has reported that the bill is likely to pass if the Senate agrees to exempt sports and racing betting from the ban.
A number of presentations outlined the differences between gambling with an e-casino and betting with a sportsbook site. TAB Ltd, for example, outlined how damaging a permanent ban would be to its business, as well as the New South Wales racing industry.
The Australian Casino Association (ACA), meanwhile, proposed the implementation of the Australian Model regulations across all Australian jurisdictions, which would, the submission said, "do more to ensure a thorough, regulated interactive gambling regime that will ensure high standards of customer protection for all Australians."
The regulations would then be supplemented through a code from the Internet Industry Association (IIA) that would let Australian citizens, if they wish, obtain approved content filters to access Australian regulated sites as well as those located offshore.
The reports can be accessed on the Australian Senate website at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/ecita_ctte/Ig2/01%20ARBAC.pdf