Fallout from the moratorium on Internet gambling continues to be felt in Australia. There have been several Internet casino casualties since the moratorium was imposed, but last week a state government went a step further by pulling the carpet out from underneath a company that distributes smart cards.
The card, developed by REGIS, was developed to curb the loss of problem gamblers through a monthly limit put on the card. The Victoria-based company was told by the state government last week that the card could not be put into effect due to the moratorium.
"Until all states and territories know if and when (the federal government) plans to regulate the environment, there is little the Victorian government can do in terms of progress on this," a spokeswoman for Gaming Minister John Pandazopoulos was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun.
The spokeswoman, Jacinta Reddan, said the government was unable to implement changes because of the federal government's 12-month ban on Internet gambling.
REGIS Managing Director Elik Szewach, who helped develop REGIS (the Responsible Electronic Gaming via Internet System), said it prevented underage gambling online, but ensured user details such as age remained confidential.
He said the technology had safeguards that prevented credit card gambling, protecting consumers from rising debt.
The product has received strong support from the federal government and state government representatives in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, as well as Opposition multimedia spokesman Victor Perton.
While Gaming Minister John Pandazopoulos supported the scheme, Szewach said the government had failed to meet him to discuss the technology.
"We've got a major gambling problem here and we wanted to sit down and discuss the technology," Szewach said.
Opposition gaming spokesman Ted Baillieu said the technology had potential and accused the government of stalling because it was reluctant to jeopardize revenue.
Revenue, however, isn't a huge concern of the Victorian government, which just reported a budget surplus of $953 million. With that in mind, along with the fact that gambling, as it is throughout Australia, is considered a serious problem in Victoria, it's easy to see how the government wouldn't be too concerned.
According to a Herald Sun article, the state government predicts that 4 percent of household spending in Victoria this year will be on some form of betting. That, according to Treasurer John Brumby, is unacceptable, so a product that increases access to gambling in the state isn't likely to receive the warmest of receptions.