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AU $500 BonusA recent article posted on the Sydney Morning Herald website, and written by Michael Bachelard and Danielle Teutsch, raises questions regarding a new generation of internet gamblers with potential gambling problems.
Online gambling, whether it be sports betting or casino games, such as poker and bingo, is growing at a much faster rate than any other form of gambling.
Online sports betting is perfectly legal, but it is estimated that around $1 billion a year is spent by Australians on online casino games.
As has been mentioned many times on this site, this is a dilemma for the federal government, because this part of the industry is unregulated, with the money going to offshore companies, who pay no tax.
The government is therefore faced with the problem as to how to recoup some of this money. Next month will see the Productivity Commission report, which is widely expected to recommend the legalisation of some online games.
However, there are many anti-gambling advocates, who would strongly oppose this move, saying that a new wave of problem gamblers is on the way.
Online poker is the most popular of the online games, and its fans say that it is a game of skill, not chance, unlike other online games, and that it should be treated differently.
Senator Nick Xenophon has warned that young people particularly may develop problems with online gambling, and he has a private members bill ready which would ban Australian credit card companies from processing payents to offshore gaming sites. However, many sites have already overcome this problem by introducing other ways to make payments.
