Asia Pac

Australia’s communications watchdog has blocked a slew of websites operating outside the country’s licensed market, including the imaginatively named Mafia Casino.

In total, 19 online gambling platforms and affiliate sites have been blocked by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), as an unyielding approach is taken by Australian officials to unlicensed operators.

The latest sites blocked are: Bass Bet, BetWhale, CasinOK, Cleobetra, Diva Spin, FatPirate, Free Spinz, Gransino, JackBit, Legiano, Mafia Casino, Magius, Monster Win, NewLucky, Nonbetstop.com, Slotexo, Talismania, Tiki Casino and Vegas Hero.

The agency stated: “The ACMA is reminding consumers that even if a service looks legitimate, it’s unlikely to have important customer protections. This means Australians who use illegal gambling services risk losing their money.”

Blocking a myriad of websites is a tough challenge for regulators, as it leads to a whack-a-mole style predicament with operators rebrand..

This morning, PM Anthony Albanese declared that Australia will implement “strong and decisive actions” to curb gambling advertising and protect young and vulnerable audiences.

A matter that has dogged Albanese tenure as PM since 2023, is resolved as the Labor government has committed to back five measures aimed at a ‘drastic reduction of exposure’ of gambling ads to the Australian public.

Beginning 1 January 2027, the government will restrict “gambling advertising on broadcast television to no more than three ads per hour between 6am and 8.30pm, alongside a full ban on such advertising during live sports broadcasts within those hours.”

The headline reform directly targets what gambling reformists describe as the “normalisation loop” between sport and betting — an issue that has driven a nationwide campaign calling for federal intervention.

Labor’s reset is built around five core restrictions that redefine how, where and to whom gambling marketing can be shown:

Broadcast TV limits:..

Community calls in New Zealand led by an opposition MP to ensure that comprehensive player safety measures are included in the country’s new gambling bill were addressed during today’s reading.

Lemauga Lydia Sosene, a Labour politician and the party’s spokesperson, has become a key figure in campaigning for community returns to be prominently featured in New Zealand’s online gambling legislation.

Sosene, together with the community groups she represented, achieved success on that front late last year when the government agreed to include a mandatory 4% levy on online casino profits to be invested back into the public – with a following revision whether that rate should be put up.

Now, the Labour MP seems to have scored another win as her campaigning to ensure that sufficient steps are taken to minimise gambling harm appears to have contributed to the New Zealand government giving this extra attention in the upcoming bill, which passed the second-to-last-parliamentary stage today.

T..

Authorities in the Philippines are set to target a group of social media influencers for allegedly promoting illegal online gaming platforms.

During a press briefing, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Centre (CICC) confirmed that ten influencers are under suspicion, including names such as Perkz Gaming, Jam Magno, Vic Desucatan and Wampipti.

The action is being taken alongside PAGCOR, the country’s gaming regulator, and Digital Pinoys, a government-backed digital advocacy group, and follows similar warnings fired at a group of 30 influencers in November.

At the time, CICC’s Chief Undersecretary, Renato Paraiso, warned that the influencers could be charged with violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, Presidential Decree No. 1602, which prescribes stiffer penalties on illegal gambling, and Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code on estafa.

If prosecuted, the influencers could face fines and potential imprisonment under the Philippines’ cybercrime and gaming reg..

Regulated online casinos are edging closer towards reality in New Zealand, as the Online Casino Gambling bill has passed its second reading in the country’s Parliament.

The rubber stamping of the regulation is scheduled to be completed in June; however, there are still a few hurdles that are left to be overcome.

Support was shown for community returns from the online casino gambling market in the second reading, as offshore gambling duty (online gambling duty once the bill passes) will increase from 12% to 16%, with approximately 4% ring-fenced for community benefit.

Further scrutiny is set to come for the bill, as it now progresses to the Committee of the Whole House, which will consider the legislation in detail, debate each of its clauses and make any changes if necessary.

Once the clause review is complete, the bill will return to the House of Representatives for its third and final reading. The House will then vote and decide if the legislation should become law. If the bil..

Liquor & Gaming New South Wales (L&GNSW) has given gambling operators a heads up that the use of social media influencers will be a key enforcement focus in 2026.

The regulator, which monitors online wagering and gaming machine advertising visible to the NSW community, will closely examine operators’ marketing and customer retention practices, including affiliate and promotional arrangements involving social media personalities.

Hospitality and Racing Deputy Secretary, Tarek Barakat, said operators would be held accountable for advertising carried out on their behalf.

“We are putting gambling operators on notice that a key priority for us this year is examining their marketing and customer retention practices, including the use of social media personalities,” he said.

“Gambling operators should be careful about any affiliate or partnership arrangements as we are holding them responsible for the advertising of their products.

“The things we are targeting include paid and unpaid pr..

A new multi-stakeholder campaign has been launched in Australia which demands that the government takes action on “tightening advertising of unhealthy products” – the gambling industry in particular has been placed in the spotlight.

The nationwide initiative, titled “Give Us an Ad Break”, has been launched by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) and has already received “the backing of more than 130 organisations and public health leaders spanning health, sport, research and social services.”

FARE is urging federal ministers to support the introduction of a Harmful Products Marketing Act – legislation that would impose clear legal limits on when, where and how harmful products can be advertised, particularly in environments where children may be exposed.

Its proposal is modelled on Australia’s tobacco advertising framework and seeks to curb the visibility of gambling, alcohol and unhealthy food promotions across broadcast, digital and outdoor media.

Campaign org..

BetStop has laid new ground for comprehensive self-exclusion on AUS gambling licences and states, a dynamic dependent on the Labor Party’s stalled review of gambling advertising reforms…

The government of Australia has been warned that the BetStop National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER) cannot be viewed as a “silver bullet to stop the rise of gambling addiction rates”.

The warning has headlined the review of the BetStop register by independent examiner and AUS public health expert Richard Eccles, who was summoned by the Australia Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) in October 2024.

The ACMA has submitted its first review of BetStop to ministers of the Commonwealth, providing an overview and breakdown of self-exclusion activities across six states and two mainland territories in Australia.

BetStop first came into existence in August 2023 as part of The Gambling Amendment Act, with an aim of applying urgent reforms to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

The stewardship of the s..