I thought I would put my two cents in. As someone who played slots online its a shame that the government has made the decision however to a certain extent its justified.
For a start online casino's make no contribution to assist those who live in Australia and have developed a gambling problem and require counselling etc. Casino's, pubs and clubs have to pay a set amount to assist those with a gambling problems.
Australian government is unable to assist with those who have been ripped off by rogue casino's
The government has placed restrictions on land based slots, ie limited spin amount to $5 or $10, opening hours, cannot use your credit card at a slot venue etc.
Online Casino's have no restrictions ie up to $500 a spin on some, credit card is preferred, slots are available 365 days 24x7
Online casino's pay no tax.
Aggressive marketing which lures the vulnerable and under aged.
Its certainly saving me a lot of money not having the slots online.
Good call slotsking, I did always understand that aspect of it all in my head and obviously any online avenue be it gambling, videos, shopping, social media all have social risks attached to them that cannot be protected by standard laws and norms of our societies at present so yes understandably there is a need to review and shake up the surrounding legislation. And while i think your post is excellent and valid, I still cant help but go "yeah but what about...?!?" (In defence of online gambling though..)
My perception of our Govt's decisions in any instance is that they continually seem to be a penalty focussed system that never seems to truly address the core root of the "problem" they purport to be solving... it is becoming a nanny state here on so many levels, its more about opressing, banning, criminalising, revenue raising, punishment, threats and ostracising, fearmongerig and disadvantaging those who participate in thsle acts or who might actuallyneed to seek support or such. Marijuana is a good example, alcohol packaging and fast foods, cigarettes, prescription pain meds, gambling and lotto, amazon or online shopping l, welfare & support services amongst other things..
And most of the time there is always a financial motive behind this Govts decisions-taxes n budgets erghh. Fast food? Tax it? Sugary alcoholic drink? Bought it off ebay? Tax it! So the argument for "if you can't tax it, ban it' i feel is most definitely a pretty accurate guess about some of these decisions.
I just literally though cannot get my head around the fact that there is a huge potential for them to actually have it both ways-tax it, oversee it, allow aussie punters the freedom of choice and maintain integrity for the people who choose to gamble via this method. Surely Packer would even be on board to add even more profit avenues to his mundane monopoly of casino exclusivity. There is one casino per capital city, some regional areas might have slots/pokie machines around but honestly they are godawful games with crap features, awful music, stupid button placement and difficult functionality. Online slots are by far superior more enticing, often have much lower minimum bets and are just more fun LBH. I would happily sign up to an Aus licensed site, join an aussie based online wallet or purchase prepaid vouchers from my local shopping centre, maybe even pay a small tax or subscription cost for the luxury if it meant i was free to play and use fun decent games in my own time, in my own house at my own accord rather than being forced to venture to the actual casino ugh. Just seems like theres potential for it to please both parties yet nothing is being done when as a few others mentioned in this thread, its like drugs or whatever. You can ban things all ya like but people will find a way and a blacl market will be created and this in turn can damage players even more with the riskier sites or dodgier payment methods and even pirated software.
Sorry to rant so much but i feel lile a litrle part of me is just super unimpressed with our ridiuclous govt for so many reasons right now that rereading this thread exacerbayed my anger even moreLOL!
AND I am keen to know if anyone has any suggestions or stanf out sites that they have since found or whatnot and how he journey is going for everyone cince its been a few months now, good sites, wins losses etc etc!!!
I mean its an old thread but it still relevant to me obvs being Aussie but also because I do find it interesting topic especially wit Govt motives and us poor players response, opinions and feedback since it all came crashing down for us right.. bloody govt LOL