{"id":217880,"date":"2022-06-17T13:39:24","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T20:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=217880"},"modified":"2022-06-17T15:12:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T22:12:48","slug":"thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"ThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian communications regulator ACMA has ordered internet service providers to block online casino ThePokies.net after data showed it attracted 30,000 Australians each month. The regulator said it had received reports from customers who claimed they weren\u2019t being paid their winnings or that the site was withholding deposits.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Australian Communications and Media Authority office in Australia, above, is cracking down on ThePokies.net after winners reported not being able to collect winnings. (Image: ABC News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Online casino-style games are illegal in Australia, which only permits sports betting on the internet.<\/p>\n

\n

That\u2019s because it already has enough of the live variety. In 2017 there were 187,000 slots,\u00a0or \u201cpokies<\/a>,\u201d in pubs and clubs throughout the country. That represents 76% of the world\u2019s slot machines stationed in non-gaming venues. Australia has 0.3% of the world\u2019s population but 18% of its slot machines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This has contributed to high levels of problem gambling<\/a> in the country.<\/p>\n

Switching the Blame<\/strong><\/h2>\n

ThePokies.net is licensed in Curacao, a jurisdiction where regulatory oversight is almost non-existent. That gives customers little recourse to recoup their funds if they feel improperly withheld.<\/p>\n

The site’s terms and conditions state that players may only participate in games if \u201cyou are from those countries and geographic regions where online gambling is allowed by law.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the casino makes sure to switch the responsibility from the operator to the player.<\/p>\n

You are solely responsible for determining whether your access to the website is compliant with applicable gambling laws in your region of residence,\u201d<\/strong> a statement from ThePokies.Net read.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In its \u201cFrequently Asked Questions,\u201d under \u201cCan I use a VPN to get around region blocked games?\u201d the operator replies:<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, you can! Unlike our competitors, we feel it is your right as a player to have access to the latest games and providers, and if they have blocked your regions access, we see there being no harm done by using a VPN to bypass these blocks. This is what makes us different to most casinos out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fine Threat Ineffective<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Online casinos can face a $1.1 million fine for offering their services to Australia. But in most cases, the owners are undiscoverable and beyond the grasp of government regulators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have received more complaints about thepokies.net this year than any other illegal gambling website, and it is clearly doing a lot of harm to the Australian community,\u201d ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Complaints have ranged from people who have lost significant amounts of money through to the site refusing to honor deposits and winnings,\u201d <\/strong>she added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Australia has been ISP-blocking online casinos since 2019. But operators can usually resurface with modified URLs, meaning regulators are engaged in an eternal game of whack-a-mole.<\/p>\n

Australian visitors to ThePokies.net are currently automatically redirected to a mirror site, ThePokies11.net.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australian communications regulator ACMA has ordered internet service providers to block online casino ThePokies.net after data showed it attracted 30,000 Australians each month. The regulator said it had received reports from customers who claimed they weren\u2019t being paid their winnings or that the site was withholding deposits. Online casino-style games are illegal in Australia, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":217899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13592,69293],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ThePokies.net ISP-blocked for offering illegal online slots in Australia, but quickly resurfaces under a modified domain.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ThePokies.net ISP-blocked for offering illegal online slots in Australia, but quickly resurfaces under a modified domain.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-17T20:39:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-17T22:12:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ACMA.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"940\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/\",\"name\":\"ThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ACMA.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-17T20:39:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-17T22:12:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"ThePokies.net ISP-blocked for offering illegal online slots in Australia, but quickly resurfaces under a modified domain.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ACMA.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ACMA.jpeg\",\"width\":940,\"height\":627,\"caption\":\"The Australian Communications and Media Authority office in Australia. The watchdog continues to crack down on illegal offshore gaming sites, adding 14 more to be blocked. (Image: ABC News)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Slots\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/slots\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"ThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\",\"name\":\"Philip Conneller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Philip Conneller\"},\"description\":\"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown","description":"ThePokies.net ISP-blocked for offering illegal online slots in Australia, but quickly resurfaces under a modified domain.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown","og_description":"ThePokies.net ISP-blocked for offering illegal online slots in Australia, but quickly resurfaces under a modified domain.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-06-17T20:39:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-17T22:12:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":940,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ACMA.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/","name":"ThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ACMA.jpeg","datePublished":"2022-06-17T20:39:24+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-17T22:12:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"ThePokies.net ISP-blocked for offering illegal online slots in Australia, but quickly resurfaces under a modified domain.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ACMA.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ACMA.jpeg","width":940,"height":627,"caption":"The Australian Communications and Media Authority office in Australia. The watchdog continues to crack down on illegal offshore gaming sites, adding 14 more to be blocked. (Image: ABC News)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/thepokies-net-targeted-in-australia-illegal-gambling-crackdown\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Slots","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/slots\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"ThePokies.Net Targeted in Australia Illegal Gambling Crackdown"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b","name":"Philip Conneller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","caption":"Philip Conneller"},"description":"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":276920,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217880\/revisions\/276920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}