The media and communications watchdog for Australia has stepped up its crackdown against unlicensed online gaming websites by instituting a formal block against the remote lottery services at Red Fox Lotto and We Love Lotto.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) used an official press release to detail that the move represents the first time it has ever instituted such a prohibition against lottery sites although it has been asking local Internet service providers to ban access to illicit casino-style gambling domains since November of 2019.

Probe product:

Fiona Cameron from the ACMA used the press release to explain that Red Fox Lotto and We Love Lotto have been sanctioned after an official investigation uncovered evidence that the pair were offering their services to lottery aficionados in Australia without an appropriate license, which is a violation of the nation’s Interactive Gambling Act of 2001. She disclosed that the two offending services provide punters with the ability to remotely purchase tickets into major overseas lotteries such as the Powerball game from the United States or Europe’s transnational EuroMillions contest.

Read a statement from Cameron…

“Red Fox Lotto and We Love Lotto are both operating illegally in Australia, which means that there are no consumer safeguards in place for players. Blocking illegal offshore sites protects Australians from potentially dodgy operators where there is little or no recourse if things go wrong. Lottery services that are licensed in Australia and operating legally have important safeguards that consumers expect.”

Evolving effort:

The ACMA moreover divulged that the twelve months to the end of June saw it ask Internet service providers in Australia to block access to 55 unlicensed online gambling sites including those being marketed as BitStarz, Syndicate Casino, Golden Star Casino and Fast Pay Casino. It asserted that these prohibitions, which additionally involved Joo Casino, King Billy Casino, 7 Bit Casino and Loki Casino, subsequently resulted in a majority of the iGaming domains on this ‘blacklist’ experiencing drops in domestic visitation of at least 90%.

Cameron’s statement read…

“We are very pleased with the outcome and it shows that the steps we are taking to combat illegal online gambling in Australia have had a positive impact.”

Intensive inventory:

The ACMA finished by declaring that consumers in Australia can find more information on how they ‘can protect themselves from illegal gambling operators’ by visiting its website at ACMA.gov.au, which contains a complete list the currently blocked online services as well as more information on the official complaint process and how to access the country’s self-exclusion register.