PokerStars confirmed this week it would leave the Australian online poker market in September 2017. PokerStars‘ announcement came after the Australian parliament gave final approval to the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016.
IGA Bill 2016 is a comprehensive ban on online poker in Australia. Previous bills purported to ban Internet poker, but offshore operators existed in a legal gray area.
The recently-passed legislation allows Australian law enforcement and regulatory agencies to cooperate with officials in the United Kingdom and Canada. If online poker companies continued to operate in Australia, their legal status in the UK or Canada might be affected.
No Date Given for Pokerstars’ Departure
The world’s biggest Internet card room has not announced its official exit date. Australian customers of PokerStars received an email saying that the exit would occur in mid-September.
The same missive told Australian poker players their PokerStars account funds were safe and available for withdrawal. PokerStars has a history of paying out player accounts, so there was never any doubt withdrawals would be available.
It is best for Aussie players to cash out in the near future, before PokerStars might incur legal complications for paying Australian gamblers. Like cash in a player’s account, unused tournament tickets, Star Coins, or other player rewards would be converted into Australian dollars for the players.
Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016
Though it is called the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, the poker ban took 9 months to become official law. IGA 2016 was introduced in November of last year. The government passed a version of the IGA Bill in March 2017, but final approval only happened in August.
The Interactive Gaming Act 2001 had a more open-ended interpretation than the current law. Any online gambling activity not expressely banned in IGA 2001 existed in a legal gray area, allowing operators and players to remain active. IGA 2016 states that any iGaming activity which is not specifically legalized is considered a banned form of gambling. Online and mobile poker are therefore banned.
Online Poker Companies Leaving Australia
PokerStars is not the first online poker site to leave Australia over IGA 2016. In December 2016, award-winning online gaming sites Vera&John left the Australian market. In the months since, 888poker, Gaming Innovation Group, and 32Red all left the Aussie poker market.
Of the various companies leaving, PokerStars is the most significant. PokerStars generates about 70% of the Internet poker revenues worldwide, so it’s presence in any gaming niche tends to be dominant.
PokerStars Statement on Leaving Australia
A representative for PokerStars released a statement, saying it would study future Australian gambling legislation and would consider a return to the market, under the right legal circumstances.
The statement from PokerStars read, “We’re proud to have seen the Australian poker community grow so strong over the last decade. We do respect the Australian Government’s decision in taking steps to protect consumers and hope that in time we’ll be able to serve real money poker to you again.”
It seems PokerStars learned its lesson from its reticence to leave the United States poker market. Years after Black Friday, PokerStars still pays the price of accepting US players when it was a banned activity. With that in mind, they’ll leave the Australian market and hope to return when online poker sites are legal once again.
