ACMA exploring possible regulation of social casino games

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) just turned in its 2022-23 research program, which includes making social casinos a priority topic in addition to five other projects.

Last Thursday, Australia’s media watchdog revealed that the probe would examine the offerings of social casinos in Australia and determine if regulatory changes needed to be implemented. The ACMA specifically said it would inspect “the take-up and usage of social casinos in Australia” in addition to the “developments in international regulatory approaches”.

Due to the fact that players do not place real money bets, social casino games are not technically described as gambling. The games are usually free-to-play mobile apps and are particularly popular in Australia due to their fun concept and socially oriented nature. The apps and websites are available on mobile devices, and as such, both seasoned gamblers and casual players regularly frequent them.

READ: ACMA blocks another 13 illegal online casinos

Despite their free-to-play nature, several social casino games have an optional paid element. This includes virtual tokens which, when purchased, will allow users to boost their gameplay.

As a result, the ACMA is concerned that the games could be a gateway for casual players to go down the path of real money gambling, thus the possible need to be regulated. Over the next year, the ACMA will research the impact of social casinos in order to determine whether their optional microtransactions constitute gambling.

The result will decide whether the games will be regulated or left as they are. Besides the previous options, the ACMA could also choose to ban social casino services entirely.

In 2020, the MP of Tasmania, Andrew Wilkie, put in place an amendment to the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act of Australia which supported the ban on social casino services.

Although the ACMA did not reveal its intention to resort to banning, the media regulator emphasized the need to uncover the social impact of the casinos fully.

“This research will inform the ACMA’s decisions to help maximize the economic and social benefits of communications infrastructure, content, and services for Australia,” the ACMA said.

“Each year, the ACMA examines a range of issues across the Australian media and communications landscape to give a clearer picture on how current and future developments may impact its regulatory role.”

According to the watchdog, the research will enable it to understand precisely the influence of social casino offerings on society. The ACMA also revealed that it would place the social and economic wellbeing of Australians as its topmost priority and would only resort to a ban if it was absolutely necessary.

Besides the social casino project, ACMA’s 2022-23 research program also revealed five other interests for the upcoming year:

• Digital platforms reports and complaints research
• Consumer experiences with captioning quality
• Research to support the Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) Code review
• Market studies (communications supply chain development and 5G private networks deployment)
• Emerging tech paper – metaverse

ACMA notably released two gambling-related research projects in February this year. They were primarily focused on the role of affiliate services in “promoting illegal online gambling”, in addition to a more broad study on iGaming in Australia.

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