Poker, betting websites hit by Australian blacklist
March 19, 2009 – 1:11 pmWebsites which allow users to play poker online and provide playing tips are included on a list alleged to be the ACMA blacklist. The blacklist includes the URLs of at least five poker playing websites currently in operation. Also included is the international betting service Betfair.com.
Betfair CEO Andrew Twaits is outraged. He had this to say to ComputerWorld.com.au:
“We didn’t know [about the ban]. We’ve been licensed to operate in Australia for three years and have never received a complaint or any allegation that Betfair locally or globally is not permitted to be used by Australians
“The global Betfair site is used by Australians every day.”
Find out more about the leaked Australian blacklist of banned websites here.
16 Responses to “Poker, betting websites hit by Australian blacklist”
Betfair ?
http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2008/12/betfair-plugs-just-not-cricket.html
Betfair plugs just not cricket
By David Knox on December 30, 2008
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Anti-gambling advocates Tim Costello and South Australian senator Nick Xenophon said they were shocked to see Betfair’s strong presence on advertising billboards at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Betfair, a UK affiliate, is licensed by the Tasmanian Gaming Commission. PBL Media owns 50% of Betfair.
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No doubt Senator Nick Xenophon will be pleased. I’m not so sure about PBL media. Isn’t that a James Packer company ?
http://www.pblmedia.com.au/
Bob
By Bob Bain on Mar 19, 2009
Hmmm deja vu.. I just commented on this before in another post on this blog ~grin~
By G Thompson on Mar 19, 2009
all I can say is that I can bet there will be quite a bit of hell to pay.
and I seriously hope that there will be heads rolling in the government over this.
By alphamone on Mar 19, 2009
This is ridiculous! There are TABs and pokies everywhere, one can make a phone call and place a bet, there are Tattersalls adverts and draws on the TV all the time… but we’re not allowed to bet online!?
Aside from this, I don’t want my internet experience to be censored down to the level of a child.
By zappso on Mar 19, 2009
…and something else: doesn’t one have to be over 18 and have a credit card to use these online betting services anyway? Banning betting sites in an effort to Protect The Children would therefore seem to make no sense.
Maybe it’s just harder for the gov.au to get their taxes from online gambling??
By zappso on Mar 19, 2009
I don’t care if poker sites are blacklisted. I am really not interested in online gambling.
By Glenn on Mar 19, 2009
Lucky that your preference coincides with this decision that has been made for you, then.
I’m not interested in online gambling either, but it doesn’t mean I want it censored. I don’t agree with censoring out gay sites but I’m not gay. I don’t agree with blacklisting swinging and fetish sites but that doesn’t mean I’m into it.
You have to consider of the rights of others, not just your own.
I also believe that creating blacklists and censoring access to child porn is the wrong tactic. Monitor and track and prosecute and sentence – but don’t censor. Otherwise you risk the list being leaked, drive the whole thing underground so it’s harder to track and probably force the desperate bastards who enjoy child porn onto the streets to get their fix.
By zappso on Mar 19, 2009
“You have to consider of the rights of others, not just your own.”
That’s not the Australian way. You have to consider others’ private pursuits, yes, but their rights? What they?
By Dr Zen on Mar 19, 2009
BTW, I’m LingOL that an “anticensorship” blog has moderated comments.
By Dr Zen on Mar 19, 2009
Moderation is not the same as censorship.
If you want to say something that is not relevant to this, go and create your own blog or post somewhere else. Nobody is stopping you (yet).
By HTA on Mar 19, 2009
You dont have to gamble money to play on these poker sites,
Most of the poker sites have play money sections where people can play for free..
You can recharge your account for free with play money once you run out, then go back and hit recharge
Endless supply of play money
Its not all about betting…
I enjoy playing APL (Australian Poker League) im not a gambler, I dont use money when i play poker..
APL is a Freeroll Poker Tournament that are set up at most pubs around australia for live poker tournaments, and they also have 2 tournaments every single day online using play money.. you gain points, and if you get soo many points in the month you go into a monthly tournament for prizes.. all at $0 cost.
So its not all about gambling….
By Matt on Mar 20, 2009
They are all rigged the online poker sites, someone should not only blacklist them, but stick ALL of them in prison too.
By Don on Mar 20, 2009
this is crazy. firstly to SO MANY PEOPLE, including myslelf.. POKER is not gambling, its calculating odds and is predominately math, but, yes some of it is made of on chance, but poker is thousands of peoples profession !.
i don’t agree with banning poker or online gambling sites. Because GAMBLING AND PLAYING POKER IS NOT ILLEGAL ! ! !
By Max on Mar 24, 2009
Our business focuses on poker corporate events, private events, and poker bucks parties. We also run a couple of live poker games each week.
We are finding that people accessing our website from some workplaces are being denied access (this includes government offices in Australia).
We do not provide a gambling service. We are in the entertainment business. Our live pub-based games are ran within the NSW Office Of Liquor Gaming and Racing guidelines, and our corporate and private events are purely for entertainment, yet we are constantly denied advertising opportunities online because of an incorrect perception that all poker is gambling (rather than skill), or that poker can’t just be for fun and has to have money involved.
Can you imagine a trivia business having to go through the hoops we do?
I don’t think we are on the ACMA list, but clearly we are on a list somewhere, and part of our core business is running corporate events.
There needs to be a master white-list so that legitimate businesses (especially entertainment businesses that do not actually offer gambling but may have Casino or Poker key-words) do not lose income due to the incompetence of automated or human classifiers.
…or in the absence of that, a set of guidelines for what is or is not considered gambling by the filters/blacklists, rather than the law, because these filters/blacklists may have the ability to severely harm legitimate businesses where classification errors are made.
I’m not sure on the legalities surrounding this, but does anyone know if there has been, or is there likely to be, any lawsuit brought against the operators of blacklists or filters, by legitimate businesses that have been financially disadvantaged as a result of incorrect classifications?
I can understand why businesses would want to use filters to stop their employees accessing gambling websites, but who is setting the policy to determine what is considered gambling? I fear some filters and blacklists may be making up their own minds in some cases…
James Kruss
Managing Director
QueenSix
Contact QueenSix (www.queensix.com.au) for corporate events, private events, and poker bucks parties.
By James on Feb 22, 2010