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NSW, Western Australia and Queensland have relaxed some of their key lockdown restrictions....
NSW, Western Australia and Queensland have relaxed some of their key lockdown restrictions.
Casinos across the country have shut down, forcing gambling addicts to find alternative ways to bet.Source:News Corp Australia
Australia’s online gambling scene has reached new heights since casinos closed in late March, and experts fear billions of Aussie dollars are lining the pockets of illegal online game operators.
Several online poker supporters in Australia have recently revived the fight for online poker. The game has been illegal in the eyes of the Australian government since 2017, but several staunch allies have continued to meet with lawmakers. Welcome to the Brand New Australian Poker League Website. We are just optimising the page for your browser, please allow 10-15 seconds to load this first time. It should be nice and quick next time you visit us! The so-called Interactive Gambling Act, put poker in one line with casino games and stated that foreign online poker rooms can be blocked. After the bill was passed 888poker and PokerStars immediately left the Australian Market. However, the Australian Online Poker Alliance says the report is flawed as ACMA bases its success on a list of sites operational in Australia “years ago” and fails to mention that many new offshore operators that have eagerly entered the fray. Poker players all across Australia put up a good fight to reject the bill or create an exemption for online poker as a skill game. Everyone from casual poker enthusiasts to the most well-known Aussie poker pro, Joseph Hachem, spoke up and drove the movement.
“I average $3000-$4000 a week,” said Daniel*, from Sydney, who runs unregulated gambling tournaments online.
He told news.com.au he makes six figures “easy” from the illegal practice — and that was before the COVID-19 crisis.
Since pubs and clubs closed their doors from lockdown regulations, Australians have saved $1.5 billion not using poker machines, according to the Alliance for Gambling Reform.
However, this doesn’t take into account online gambling, which has spiked massively in the last month.
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Casinos across the country have shut down, forcing gambling addicts to find alternative ways to bet.Source:News Corp Australia
Recent data from Google Trends shows searches for “online casinos Australia” and “online poker” have quadrupled since the pandemic was declared.
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The biggest spike was recorded on March 22, the same day that thousands of clubs and gaming facilities were forced to close their doors in response to the government’s stage one lockdown.
Sitting behind his computer screen, profiteer Daniel has noticed more gamblers coming to his website than ever before.
“The raw amount of people playing online poker has at least doubled, maybe tripled,” he said.
“Because of COVID-19 they’ve been forced to find these online options. Now that the casino is closed, the market kind of shifted from live to online.”
Even though he had to cancel a holiday, COVID-19 has most definitely had a silver lining for Daniel and others like him.
“Mainstream, regulated online poker sites actually became illegal in 2017,” he said.
“So people wanting to play online have to go through unregulated/player run sites, (like mine).”
“It’s helped me economically, running the tournaments.”
A general view is seen of Crown Casino in Melbourne, Thursday, April 16, 2020. Crown Resorts has stood down 95 per cent of its workforce – more than 11,500 staff – after coronavirus restrictions affected its casinos in Melbourne and Perth. Michael Dodge/AAPSource:AAP
MEET THE ONLINE GAMBLERS
Malcolm Trayner used to go to casinos all the time but he’s turned entirely to virtual poker since COVID-19 started.
Like Daniel, he’s also observed a staggering amount of online poker players, saying: “Suddenly when COVID-19 hit it was next level.
“For people running these sites, their income is going to rapidly increase.
“More people (playing online poker) increases the prize pool, increases the potential money,” he said. “Which means when you do win, you win a lot.”
But with more players, comes more chance of losing.
Indeed, Mr Trayner hasn’t made any money in the past few weeks, having been on a losing streak.
“It’s a little bit hard because I’ve been on a bad run for the last month,” he said.
Malcolm Trayner is playing in a live tournament in this photo from 2018. However, he has had to turn entirely to online gambling amid coronavirus lockdowns.Source:Supplied
PRO GAMBLERS ARE ALSO PROFITING (MOSTLY)
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As a pro poker player, Mr Trayner remains optimistic and says he’s just having a “short-term downswing”.
“This massive increase (of players) in the field has increased the variance so pro tournament players have to be wary of a short term downswing,” he said.
However, he believes in the long term, gambling professionals have a good chance to turn a profit.
“More players means the online poker pool is generally softer, and more profitable for the pro players,” he said.
“All these people are doing it recreationally and they don’t play poker full-time.
“So many pro players I know have made $80-100k+ just in the last month.
“For the vast majority of poker pros, it (the COVID-19 pandemic) has been a good thing,” he finished.
Mr Trayner pointed news.com.au towards a graph of one of his poker pro friends, who has been raking in cash since COVID-19 started.
Last year, news.com.au reported on Mr Trayner’s staggering winnings as a result of his pro player lifestyle, which paid for his rent months at a time.
Mr Trayner expects to be making similar profits soon in this COVID-19 “open season”.
THE EXPERT SPEAKS OUT
Dr Rebecca Jenkinson, manager of the Australian Gambling Research Centre, said Australians are the biggest per capita gamblers in the world.
“And a lot of that money will be going to unlicensed providers, especially now,” she told news.com.
“Around the world, these offshore operators pop up in all different places.”
While there are a lot of profiteers inside Australia like Daniel, there’s a lot more outside the country who are scraping in the big bucks.
“Certainly a lot of activity outside of Australia,” Dr Jenkinson said.
“These people are very much looking to attract the Australian market. Some of the websites have kangaroos or emus on them so they look regulated.”
Las Vegas has shut down all its casinos and its iconic strip is like a ghost town.Source:AP
London police wait outside a casino ensuring it stays closed during the lockdown.Source:AP
Dr Jenkinson said it’s not just poker that has her worried about Aussie dollars going down the drain — it’s all kinds of gambling including sports wages and online poker machines.
“These websites want to look like they’re legal, just by the images they use or the name of the site.
“So as a result, a lot of people might be unaware they’re using an unregulated site.”
Although all online poker sites are unregulated, she encouraged people to use government regulated sites for other types of gambling.
“There’s a list of providers that people can look into if they want to gamble,” she said.
“ACRA has a list of a number of licensed operators.”
Dr Jenkinson said it was a possibility that the entire $1.5 billion saved by the closure of casinos could have since been spent on online gambling. There’s no way to be sure because not all of it is reported.
However, she said this staggering loss of money was a small possibility, adding: “I don't imagine it would get up to that level,” she said.
“And most of that money will be going to licensed providers like sports anyway.”
Poker machines might not be accessible, but that hasn’t stopped people going online.Source:News Corp Australia
Online poker site runner Daniel is confident that his income will stay much the same even after the pandemic passes.
“I think that online poker will (stay) at a high level for a long time even after COVID-19 dies,” he said.
“Once people are introduced to the online scene they’ll see that it’s more convenient.
“You can get gambling apps on your phone and stuff like that. People will keep playing.”
Dr Jenkinson agrees. However, unlike Daniel, she doesn’t view it as a good thing.
These high levels of online gambling “might be sustained after we return to normal,” she said.
“I certainly think people who’ve set up an account will keep that account.”
If the government acts fast, they might be able to tamp down Australian gambling habits, according to Dr Jenkinson.
“I would really like to use this opportunity to work as a community and reduce levels of gambling and gambling-related harm,” she said.
If this article has brought up any issues for you, please don’t hesitate to contact Gambling Help on 1800 858 858 or visit the website.
While casinos have been closed and sport is played behind closed doors, it appears online poker companies are raking in more money than ever during the pandemic.
Market Watch reports that New Jersey hit a monthly revenue record of $93.5 million in October from online poker and casinos, up 106.7 per cent from the same time last year.
Pennsylvania saw its online casino and poker rooms generate a record $59.8 million gross revenue in October, a record for the state.
Those two states, along with Nevada, have typically the most gaming revenue in the United States and are good indicators for the industry.
“On a purely business level, it strengthened our business. Our business has really thrived,” vice president of US Business at Gambling.com Max Bischel said.
“We had more people focused on online casinos. The online business grew substantially throughout quarter two and three to a new level.”
Gambling.com connects bettors with online gambling companies.
While no major professional and college sports were being played from March to May, the industry saw a big jump in its total players.
Bischel claims players who might normally bet on sports would play “a couple of hands of blackjack or sprint the roulette wheel a few times” during the summer sport hiatus.
Now that sports are back, bettors are not choosing to either bet on sports or play online poker, they’re doing both.
“You’re back to pre-pandemic levels with sports, coupled with the increase in online casino activity,” Bischel said.
“It’s hard to think in retrospect what would have happened with a pandemic, but as the situation stands today, it’s pretty positive for the industry.
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Aussie Millions poker event postponed indefinitely
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the indefinite postponement of the 2021 Aussie Millions, which may not return in 2021.
Cards Chat reported in November that Melbourne’s Crown Casino made the news public via an announcement on its website, citing safety concerns at the popular tournament.
The postponement comes just days after the Melbourne venue was given the green light to reopen in a limited capacity, with a maximum of 100 patrons permitted since mid-November.
Losing the Aussie Millions is a big blow for poker players, with the event a staple of the calendar since 1998.
Originally known as the Australasian Poker Championship, it was later rebranded as the Aussie Millions.
In the past two decades, the main event has grown in popularity, with the last three champions, Toby Lewis, Bryn Kenney and Vincent Wan all outlasting more than 800 players to win the $7,650 Aussie Millions Main Event.
The Australian series was also an early pioneer of super high roller events, with the $100,000+ events creating a new vibe at the event and ensuring big names continue to attend.
“Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Crown Melbourne wishes to advise that the scheduling of the 2021 Aussie Millions poker tournament and other poker events due to take place in 2021 will be placed on hold until further notice,” Crown’s website read.
Whether or not this means the event is on hold until 2022 is unknown at this point, with the situation currently fluid.
“Crown will continue to monitor and review the situation, working closely with the Victorian Government and health authorities to determine if and when such events can be safely revisited,” the update said.
Relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Australia hasn’t stopped officials from imposing some of the toughest restrictions in the world.
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Stay at home orders have run alongside travel bans and the closure of non-essential businesses.
While some other major poker events have shifted online in 2020, due to regulatory restrictions in Australia, that would exclude one of the event’s main demographics.
Online poker has been illegal in Australia since 2001, but the Interactive Gambling Act until recently contained loopholes that allowed offshore operators to continue serving Australian residents.
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The government closed these loopholes in 2017 with the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill.
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Pro online gambling groups have been fighting back, but every major operator has exited the market.