Australia considers Carveout for Online Blackjack and Poker

The efforts of pro online poker activists may have paid off – perhaps more so than they’d even hoped – as the Australian government has delayed passage of an iGaming ban. Following this latest delay, they will now consider a new amendment to that bill that designates a carveout for online blackjack and poker games.

The Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016 was moving swiftly through Parliament last year. It gained rapid support, and appeared poised for passage on several occasions, but numerous delays have kept the measure in pending status.

The bill would have explicitly criminalized online casino and poker activities, while requiring offshore operators of legal betting sites to obtain a licence before they can accept Australian punters.

AOPA Making Headway

Pro-poker advocates gathered in full force, establishing the Australian Online Poker Alliance. With support from known pros like Jackie Glazier, Jonathan Karamalikis, James Obst, and David Yan, the AOPA immediately issued an online petition, “asking…for the Government to amend the Bill to stipulate the exclusion of online poker.”

That petition has received 1,941 signatures to date. While it wasn’t the 2,500 target they were aiming for, the grassroots organization’s founder and inherent leader, online poker player Joseph De Luca, set up a daily initiative to contact Australian MPs and Senators. The AOPA managed to harness at least one strong supporter in Senator David Leyonhjelm.

Late last week, the LDP Senator introduced an amendment to the IGA bill that would insert a special carveout for online blackjack and poker games, excluding them from the list of illegal interactive gambling activities.

The amendment would insert a new Section 8BC into the bill, which would read:

8BC Casino-style poker or blackjack gambling service

(1) For the purposes of this Act, a casino-style poker or blackjack gambling service is a service for the conduct of a game covered by paragraph (e) of the definition of gambling service in section 4:

(a) to the extent to which the game is poker or blackjack; and

(b) to the extent to which the game is conducted in a manner substantially similar to the manner in which it would be conducted at a casino; so long as the other conditions (if any) determined under subsection (2) have been satisfied.

Online Blackjack, Poker Not Safe Yet

Unfortunately for those hoping to see online blackjack and poker games preserved in Australia, Leyonhjelm’s Liberal Democratic Part is a minority, being the only Senator (out of 76 seats) supporting the LDP. That certainly won’t help his chances of getting the amendment approved for inclusion in the IGA bill.

On the bright side, De Luca has maintained that the AOPA’s efforts are harvesting an affable reaction from more and more members of Parliament, all said to be in favor of a carveout. Only time will tell whether that reported support converts to positive votes when the ratification fially process comes about.

Due to all the delays, the IGA bill will require another reading, and that won’t happen until March 20, 2017, if not later. That gives the AOPA, as well as any online blackjack players that may wish to join their initiative, or start a campaign of their own, at least four weeks to continue contacting local legislators and petitioning the government.