Gambling in Australia can hardly be called just online entertainment, although it is primarily a way to have a pleasant time after a hard day’s work, and so on. Besides entertainment, it is also a national sport. If users of casino online Аustralias find this interpretation of playing in online gambling games funny, it means that the gambler has never been to Australia or has never played gambling games there. Australians take pride in these achievements for a reason.
Legalizing the gambling business: stumbling blocks
According to the country’s regulators, 4 out of 5 Australians who have reached the legal age have made at least one bet in their life at the time of the survey. This is quite an interesting statistic, as it is now clear how much time and effort is devoted to the development of the gambling industry in Australia.
In Australia, gambling is not just a popular online entertainment, but also a completely legal business. There are no shady profits – all online casino activities are regulated by special laws, which undoubtedly is an advantage for regular online casino users and newcomers to the gambling industry. Australians have repeatedly protested within the country after the 90s against the massive influx of gambling games in Australia. The government could not stand aside, so it responded to the protests with a special Interactive Gambling Act.
It dates back to 2001. Whose experience did Australians rely on? Of course, they took the example of successful regulation of the gambling business from the United States, as Americans managed to control the gambling frenzy. The time has come for other countries to learn from their successful experience.
However, not everything went smoothly for providers of online gambling games in Australia. According to the new law passed in 2001, gamblers can continue to spend their time playing online gambling games with real or virtual money. It became illegal to provide these services to players residing within the territory of Australia. Thus, online gambling providers found themselves outside the law.
They faced million-dollar fines for just one day of illegal activity, namely providing access to gambling entertainment. How did online gambling providers circumvent the law? Modern payment methods such as electronic wallets and Neosurf came to the rescue. Thanks to these modern payment methods, gamblers can place bets with real money, and game software providers can offer gambling services. Everyone is satisfied, and no one violates the country’s legislation.
Features of the gambling business in Australia
Australians truly enjoy spending their time playing online gambling games. For them, it is genuinely entertainment rather than a way to make money online, as some online gambling enthusiasts mistakenly believe. Poker is particularly beloved by Australians, and the country’s residents refer to poker slot machines as “pokies.” This slang term has become popular in Australia. Sometimes, all slot machines are called pokies, and it is not just about playing poker. Australians love playing slots so much that they surpass even Americans in this regard.
Pokies are one of the most popular forms of online gambling in the country. However, it is not the only form of entertainment. Australians also occasionally play baccarat, craps, and blackjack.
Poker is so popular in Australia that poker tournaments are held. Although it is an online pastime, it has managed to become a national sport, so to speak. Interestingly, if an online casino user plays poker, they have most likely participated in one of the popular poker tournaments in the country at least once.
Poker is not a means of active or passive income, although considerable sums of money can be won as rewards in the game. Poker is an entertainment that has attained national status and is taken seriously. It can be played online, but you can also find Australians who are willing to spend time in a pub playing poker.
Payment methods
Despite the availability of a list of payment methods for regular or new users of online casinos, this list is constantly changing. Some payment methods disappear while new ones are added. It is necessary to check daily for information on the availability of various payment methods in Australia when it comes to playing real money online gambling games.
Like in most countries where gambling is legal, Australians can use bank transfers or Visa and MasterCard bank cards. This is one of the most accessible payment methods. However, this payment method is not considered popular because the transaction fees are quite high, which discourages gamblers. In Australia, it is more practical to use vouchers like UPayCard and Neosurf instead of bank cards.
This is a new payment method that does not involve the use of bank cards. Moreover, it is completely anonymous. Where are the funds of a user who received a voucher stored? The funds for playing real money online gambling games are held in a special account in a bank, so it is entirely secure and legal.
Taking into account the specificities of running the gambling business in Australia, payment systems adapted to modern realities have emerged. This is how the payment system POLi was created, with the aim of simplifying transactions between casinos and financial institutions such as banks.
How does it work?
When a gambler plans to make a deposit into their gambling account, they choose not a payment method but a bank. It should be the bank where the user has previously created an account, so they can immediately access it without waiting for registration confirmation, and so on.
While cryptocurrencies may not be available on the websites of all casinos in Europe, the situation is the opposite in Australia. Cryptocurrencies are available not only for depositing funds into a gambling account but also for withdrawing money from it.
The most popular cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, but a complete list of cryptocurrencies used as payment methods can be found on the online casino’s website. This can include Litecoin, Monero, Dash, Ethereum. Before choosing a cryptocurrency, it would be wise to check the currency exchange rate at the time of placing a real money bet.