ACMA Warns Offshore Companies over Regulatory Violations

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced that it has issued warnings to three gambling service providers because of regulatory violations. The three companies were accused of contraventions of subsections 15(2A) and 15AA(3)of the IGA.

The official warnings have been sent to the owners of Rooli, Lucky Block and SlotCatalog, which the ACMA believes have violated the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (IGA).

The three companies, the ACMA understood, had offered unlicensed gambling to players in Australia using an Australian customer link. This constituted a serious violation of the local regulations which prohibit illegal offshore operators from targeting local customers.  

The Companies Were Sent Warnings

The ACMA issued formal warnings to Dama N.V. and Strukin Limited, the owners of Rooli, which provided unlicensed gambling content to customers in Australia. The Australian regulator clarified that the company had operated despite lacking authorization to do so. This constituted a violation of subsection 15(2A) of the IGA.

Lucky Block had likewise offered online gambling services to Australian consumers and had an Australian customer link despite lacking a license. The ACMA therefore issued a similar warning to its owner, Igloo Ventures, notifying it that it had violated subsections 15(2A) and 15AA(3)of the IGA.

Finally, the ACMA warned Fedir Havlovskyi who represents SlotCatalog, that the company had violated subsections 15(2A) and 15AA(3)of the IGA by facilitating access to unlicensed online casino platforms.

ACMA’s BetStop Receives Award

In other news, the ACMA recently received an international award for BetStop, its national self-exclusion program. According to the earlier announcement, the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) handed the Regulatory Excellence Award to the ACMA, praising the authority’s efforts in creating the first centralized self-exclusion register in Australia.

“The IAGR award for regulatory excellence is a recognition of the dedication and collaboration of ACMA staff in delivering this important safeguard, which has supported the more than 30,000 Australians registered to date,” Nerida O’Loughlin, chair of the ACMA, said.

This announcement came a week after Australia launched its first-ever review of the self-exclusion program.