Australia to BAN All Poker Sites

scott diamond · #1 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 01:02 PM

Here is an article by a good friend of mine and a great reporter. It is on Bluff Magazines website and I find it very interesting. Jennifer Newell wrote this and lets hear what you all think.

Censorship in itself is a feared word, as it encroaches upon personal freedoms in the most intrusive way. When that censorship is prompted and sanctioned by the government, it seeks to regulate the personal choices of an entire country. The Australian government, by way of its Australian Communications and Media Authority division, is seeking to do just that with regard to online content, which specifically targets online poker websites, poker news sites, and those who provide hyperlinks to them.

Australia has become one of the places seeing the greatest amount of poker growth. Casinos are thriving, and the tournament scene includes the multi-million dollar month-long Aussie Millions as well as the Asia Pacific Poker Tour, Asian Poker Tour, and Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour. But the government looks to thwart and criminalize the online gaming industry under the guise of protecting children from harmful websites like pornography and gambling.

While the Internet Gambling Act 2001 has been in place for years, only recently has the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) become more adamant about restricting “offensive and illegal” material. Citizens are encouraged to report such subjectively-deemed websites and anything “you believe may be prohibited” to the authorities for possible government action. The Internet Gambling Act 2001 has been updated over the past few years to include the promotion of interactive gambling services to customers in Australia as an illegal activity. And the enforcement of it has come to a critical point, as a blacklist has been discovered and sent to the media, courtesy of Wikileaks.

Included in the blacklist of 1,370 sites are a plethora of online poker sites, including ones like PokerStars, which sponsors two of the biggest poker tournaments series in the country each year, and Full Tilt Poker. But in accordance with seeking out anyone who includes hyperlinks to such banned sites, those like PokerNews have been banned as well. As the government proceeds with its plan to censor such sites, the blacklist gives a shocking idea of how comprehensive the censorship may be with it is instituted.

Many in and out of Australia fear that the scope of the ACMA plan could grow to a level that is out of control. The government is said to be looking to expand the number of sites on the list to more than 10,000, which many predict could lead to anti-democratic actions and abuses of power. Reporters Without Borders, an internet freedom company, recently placed Australia on its “watch list” of countries with such potential.

The 6th Wilbury · #2 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 01:39 PM

For those interested, here is a link to a summary of Australia's Interactive Gambling Act of 2001, as compiled by the site Gambling Law US:

http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Artic...-australia.htm

Assuming the aforementioned summary is correct, the IGA does not outlaw playing per se but rather it outlaws operating the service to players: "The IGA targets the providers of interactive gambling services, not their potential or actual customers."

I take this to mean the IGA -- if implemented as described in Newell's article -- has effectively created one giant firewall for the entire country. I know many people who can't even visit outlets like PokerPages or the WPT to get tournament updates because their employer has blocked such sites. (On a loosely related note, one of my friends can't even visit eBay while at work.) Am I making an accurate analogy?

Anyway, thanks for sharing, Scott. And Scott Huff, if you're reading, is there any chance we can add Jen Newell to the team of reporters on The Poker Beat? I might be wrong here, but she strikes me as being the most informed poker writer when it comes to gambling legislation.

Nor-Cal Dave · #3 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 07:45 PM

Sounds like a cousin of the UIGEA in the States. Hopefully it will be just as toothless, or better yet, not pass.

DaLimitguy · #4 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 07:54 PM

All I can tell you is I know a lot of Aussie pros and they will not like this, much like they didn't like the movie Australia or Kylie Minogue's singing. I also want to see is if Bindi Irwin will grow up a beautiful lady because I always see her on TV and I think she's got a potential to be like Drew Barrymore.

Lon VanPatten · #5 (**permalink**) 03-20-2009, 09:42 PM

In Australia, they're looking to block all sorts of sites, not just poker. Quite a few of the sites are porn sites and other less desirable places that the Australian government doesn't want people to visit. As is always the case in regards to these filters, it will also block plenty of sites that shouldn't be blocked and are completely appropriate, such as certain Wikipedia pages and Wikileaks, which has the list of sites blocked.

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Portions...a?curid=122986

DrummerBoy21 · #6 (**permalink**) 03-21-2009, 01:06 AM

Yeah the censorship issue has been floating around for a little while now, obviously not just poker but a lot of different sites and it hasn't exactly been met with open arms by the public or the media outlets, if such a thing does pass I will be very unhappy to say the least... At least I didn't vote this government of ours in.

What I am not understand by that is that if it comes into effect will I just not be able to visit sites like pokerstars.com or fulltilt.com and be able to use the software already having downloaded it or will they find a way so that I can't use that either?

pankstar · #7 (**permalink**) 03-21-2009, 02:32 AM

I just don't get the government intervention. The internet is free for all to use (ISP proved, of course)... how can a democratic country censor content to the extent of countries such as China, Cuba, etc? Content is content. It should be up to the user to set the "parental" controls to keep kids and such away from "bad" sites.

Call me close minded, but I see a 13 yr old looking at pr0n before gambling online....

DrummerBoy21 · #8 (**permalink**) 03-21-2009, 02:43 AM

Well that would be the logical way to look at it... Unfortunatley government rulings aren't always logical. There is also talk that with the filter taking out certain sites it will cross over and ban sites that shouldn't be banned due to them being similar in some way.

pankstar · #9 (**permalink**) 03-21-2009, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrummerBoy21

Well that would be the logical way to look at it... Unfortunatley government rulings aren't always logical. There is also talk that with the filter taking out certain sites it will cross over and ban sites that shouldn't be banned due to them being similar in some way.

Probably similair to a corporate work filter. Like, at my office, I cant get on YouTube, Pokerroad, or really any site with media. Yet, I can rail WTP, and watch vids, read bluff/cardplayer. If there is a music site w/ DL capabilites, its blocked. I jsut want the forums too, no main site. Blocked. Prolly the same w/ gov. intervention.

DrummerBoy21 · #10 (**permalink**) 03-21-2009, 03:04 AM

Yeah I would imagine it would be some similar, I dont have a problem with work places, schools and other places like that having filters. That's just expected of them to do, but to block me from my own home and controlling what I and anyone else can and can't view is just ridiculous.... Like said before it should be up to parents to control this sort of thing for minors, it should be involved in their up bringing.