Sen. David Leyonhjelm, one of the few Australian politicians to have consistently defended online gambling in general and online poker in particular, announced a new development in the federal government’s approach Wednesday, claiming that Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is considering making it possible to licence online poker operators, thus exempting them from the current bans on all but sports betting that exist following the recent passage of the Interactive Gambling Amendment Act (see previous InfoPowa reports).
The senator claims that as a result of further lobbying, the government “has advised that it is ‘favourably disposed’ to reforms that would exempt online poker players from illegal offshore wagering laws.”
Leyonhjelm quoted from a letter from Fifield, advising that a team in the Communications Ministry has been tasked to “undertake some preliminary work examining the feasibility of Australian onshore providers obtaining licenses to operate online poker.”
Note the “onshore provider” qualification.
Fifield claims that he has the support of Human Services Minister Alan Tudge, who was the driving force behind the passage of the Interactive Gambling Amendment Act.
Sen. Leyonhjelm is also largely responsible for the inception of a Senate committee deliberating the pros and cons of online poker, which is due to submit its report and recommendations in October
There is as yet insufficient information to indicate whether a more liberal approach to Australian online poker might include shared player liquidity on an international scale; whether licenses will be reserved for the presently licensed and resident Aussie online gambling providers, or at the very least locally-based companies.