The Australia government is very much aware of the booming online gaming, gambling and betting industry, which is why they enacted a law prohibiting operators from providing online gambling service to Australian residents.
The Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 promotes the protection of Australian residents from getting into financial trouble. The government does not want to reach the point where Australians get addicted to online gambling.
However, the law does not apply to online sports betting or lotteries, which are regulated by existing state legislation. The limitations of the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001 includes online gambling service providers of casinos and online games located in Australia and offshore, and both Australian and foreign-owned businesses. Violators will have to pay AUD 220,000 (or USD 121,000) per day for individuals and AUD 1.1 million (USD 606,000) per day for corporate bodies.
It seems that the Australian government is not only concerned with online gambling but with land-based or offline casinos as well. They want to reduce the number of poker machines in the country. In addition, they plan to ban cash withdrawals inside the casino so that gamblers will be forced to leave the casino, once they run out of money.
Indeed, the government is trying to fight the growth of online casinos and online gambling addiction. They have joined up with different groups in the society to help them address the issue. Industry insiders, community groups, problem-gambling counsellors are among those who coordinate with the government of Australia.