Australia’s Illegal Gambling Market Is Growing Steadily, RWA Says

Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) has published a new monitoring report on the country’s offshore gaming market, suggesting that it has more than doubled since 2019. The concerning report elaborated that billions of Australian dollars are being lost to illegal operators every year.

Offshore Gaming Deprives Australia of Millions of Dollars

RWA said that the report, which was compiled by H2 Gambling Capital, shows that Australians are losing AUD 3.9 billion ($2.5 billion) a year to illegal sites. According to the organization, this figure is more than twice as high as it was in 2019. To make matters even worse, projections suggest that the money Australians spend on illegal gaming will reach AUD 5 billion ($3.2 billion) by 2029.

That’s $3.9 billion being lost to criminal offshore operators who offer no consumer protections, pay no taxes, and return nothing to Australian sport, racing or the community.

RWA statement

To put things into perspective, the offshore market makes up a staggering 36% of all online gaming in Australia, RWA noted. In addition to hurting Australians, illegal sites also deal a blow to the Australian economy. According to estimates, the illegal gaming market will cost Australia approximately AUD 2 billion ($1.3 billion) in lost revenue and almost AUD 800 million ($518 million) in lost fees over the next five years. Losses are projected to reach AUD 585 million ($379 million) a year by 2029.

While the ACMA has been working hard to crack down on illegal sites, offshore operators have remained ever-present.

Players Are the Biggest Victims

The biggest victims, however, are the players. According to RWA, many choose to play with unlicensed operators either because they are unaware of their status or because of the better odds and bonuses they offer.

Since offshore operators pay no taxes and fees, they can invest more in making their offering more appealing, swaying many players with promises of lucrative payouts. Additionally, offshore operators sometimes offer products that are otherwise prohibited in Australia.

What players gain in better odds and bonuses, however, they lose in player protections, as unregulated companies rarely offer sufficient safeguards to prevent customers from overspending and developing addictive tendencies.

Australia Should Ensure the Onshore Market Can Compete

Kai Cantwell, CEO of the RWA, commented on the importance of protecting Australians from offshore companies. He noted that many of these are controlled by organized criminal networks and exploit loopholes to launder illicit proceeds and dodge sanctions.

Cantwell suggested that the only surefire way to combat illegal gambling is to make the local industry more appealing.

Ensuring Australia’s onshore market stays competitive is essential, because if people can’t find the products or prices they want here, they don’t stop gambling, they just go offshore.

Kai Cantwell, CEO, RWA

Cantwell also noted that offshore websites allow self-excluded and underage players to gamble, which makes them especially dangerous.