888 Poker withdraws from Australia in midst of Aussie Millions

POPULAR gambling company 888 Holdings has withdrawn its services from Australia.

The Australian-facing branch of 888 Poker has begun notifying players they won’t be able to access their accounts after January 16.

The decision now casts serious doubt on the future of online poker in Australia with rumours already circulating about an impending announcement from Pokerstars.

In what is traditionally a boom time for online poker players, with the Aussie Millions in full swing at Crown Casino, there is a growing feeling of dread among old and new players.

“I play a few times a week and it’s not a problem,” Luke, a online player from Melbourne, said.

“I completely disagree with them [laws] and I really hope the legislation just doesn’t get pushed through.

“I think 888 leaving will definitely get a lot of people talking and hopefully the government will do the right thing.

“It’s not looking good though.”

Australia is set to receive an update to gambling legislation early this year that will specifically tackle offshore gambling websites.

As of today, it is not illegal to play online poker with sites based offshore, but the new measures set to be put in place would see website operators be fined as much as $1 million per day for offering services to Australians.

Sitting behind only Pokerstars in terms of popularity among players in Australia, 888 had several well-known Australian ambassadors including champion cricketer Shane Warne and Jackie Glazier, a popular poker pro.

Under the new gambling laws it would mean the only legal form of online wagering would be sports betting and lotteries that are licensed in an Australian state.

There are no Australian-licensed poker sites and there are no plans for any despite a 2010 productivity commission report recommending regulation of online poker.

Many poker players from down under have been venting on forums online with a growing movement urging people to contact their local Member of Parliament to lodge their concern about the impending legislation.

Glazier, who is now an ambassador for Party Poker, was urging Australians to sign a petition to save online poker. You can sign it by following the below link.

http://www.taxpayers.org.au/keep_online_poker_legal

Gazing into the crystal ball

There are 100s of offshore gambling websites offering services to Australians as of January 13, 2017.

The new legislation put forward by Human Services Minister Alan Tudge in November clearly states you must be licensed in Australia to operate here.

While this bill is yet to pass the senate it is due to be pushed through early this year, which makes it hard to see many of the big online wagering companies, who have things like shareholders to worry about, operating in a black market.

Australian poker players who still want to play online will then be forced into using companies who make a living in these types of markets.

If deposit blocking comes into the equation, with it mentioned in the tabled legislation, the use of alternate deposit methods like bitcoin will become more common-place, like it is in the USA and China.

This opens a whole new can of worms for the Australian government, with it then becoming much harder to track problem gamblers and offer the necessary help.

Basically, if you still want to play online poker, you will be forced into playing at sites less legitimate than the big guns that have left our shores. The product is not as flash but millions of Americans frequent these sites and they may soon have a new competitor at the table.

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Paul

7 years ago

I’m from Australia and my account hasn’t been closed. Have they officially left Australia?

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Anonymous

7 years ago

I cant login. email response says not available in your jurisdiction.

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Paul

7 years ago

I can still log in and play but made a withdrawal Saturday and still no sign of it.

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