VPN for Online Gambling – Does it Make Sense?

A VPN stands for virtual private network and is used for sending and receiving private information across a public network as to enhance security and privacy. But more so these days a VPN is used as a means for changing a user’s IP incoming address to specific sites in order to avoid geo-targeting restrictions. There are also benefits in blocking popup ads and preventing unwanted spam typically associated with web browser cookies history among many other things.

For the gambling world the concept of using a VPN began sprouting in the mid 2000s particularly in the USA when laws around online casino playing were murky due to the inconsistency between local governments and national regulation policies. Players were not necessarily prohibited from playing online casino games at the time but were worried about being traced due to further complications with reporting taxes from earnings as well as potential penalties incurred. Essentially, everything was a mess legal wise when the online casino world sprouted and it took a number of years before standardization was initialed across each state.

USA players as a result looked to VPNs that blocked their IP addresses while playing and at the time private third-party platforms such as PayPal were being used to receive funding, thus preventing gambling commissions and earnings from being traced. However, as laws tightened and PayPal refused to be caught in the middle of what seemed to be a very grey area in terms of legal transactions these third-party platforms stopped cooperating with casinos and players were restricted to using their own bank account information that linked to their driver’s license and home address.

At this point VPNs no longer became relevant in the USA and for the same reason are no longer relevant for players in Australia. Gambling in Australia has much looser restrictions and is legal provided that players access international platforms such as Royal Vegas or Spin Palace and not domestic providers. In fact, there are no Aussie-established platforms operating Down Under due to these laws and even if they are promoted as such they need to operate outside of the nation. Nevertheless they are still legal and Aussies can claim winnings legally.

A VPN therefore does not need to be used for protection both in terms of preventing IP addressed to be traced and opening an account, as online gambling laws are coherent throughout the nation. Players from Australia also need to register their banking information with the casinos as they require deposits and withdraw to be directly transferred from bank accounts. Therefore, there is really nothing that locals need to hide or be afraid of when signing up at a casino.

Even if you use a third party such as PayPal, which currently only Spin Palace offers but can fluctuate from year to year depending on its policy, the casino still needs to verify the account is set up with a specific bank account listed with the player’s name and country from which he or she is playing from. This sounds like a bit of a hassle but in fact is meant to ensure legality for the player and the company. Casinos also want to avoid issues with fraud so verifying this process is needed.

A good way to know whether a casino accepts players from Australia is by simply visiting the site and reading its policy. Most of the time casinos have built-in geo-targeting tools to direct players to the correct sign-up page associated with their country’s currency; a good example of this is Spin Palace. Additionally, if you land on a home page with your IP address from Australia the casino will typically state “players from this area are not accepted” if the casino in fact does not accept players from there. If you use a VPN to try and get around this then you will not be able to escape the funding verification process we mentioned.

There are some people who have set up offshore banking accounts and use a VPN to reroute their playing area with their banking in order to partake in certain casino events but for Australians this is completely unnecessary. Not only can locals use online casinos legally they also do not need to report winnings, as the Australian government does not consider this to be a form of income just like how winning a jackpot at Vegas while on holiday is not considered income. Taking all these extra steps is frivolous and therefore you do not need a VPN to enjoy online casinos.

For trusted sites that have been used in Australia for 15 years make sure to check out one of the casinos listed on this site to see which ones fit your personal needs, as they are all verified and legally operating platforms.