Australia Plans Ban on Online Poker

According to a leaked report on website WikiLeaks.org it is understood that the Australian government is planning to follow in the footsteps of the U.S and ban online gambling.

Included in a list of approximately 2400 sites, almost double the previously government proposed amount of 1300 sites, are a number of online poker sites, poker news sites and sites which merely contain hyperlinks to such content. Companies such as Full Tilt Poker, Betfair and PokerStars will be shocked to learn of their inclusion on this Blacklist.

Australia has seen a huge growth within the poker industry in recent times and now plays host to tournaments including the multi-million dollar Aussie Millions, the Australia-New Zealand Poker Tour, the Asian Poker Tour and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. However this could all be undone should the proposed ban be implemented under the pretence of child protection.

Although the law itself is nothing new as the Internet Gambling Act was passed in 2001, the planned enforcement of this law has caused outrage and concern amongst many Australians. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) which regulate and monitor sites which are deemed to be "Offensive and Illegal" have encouraged citizens to report any such sites which may cause offense.

The suggested filtering program has met with stiff opposition from two of Australia's largest Internet services who are refusing to cooperate with testing of the filtering software. Early indications suggest that the filtering process can slow internet speeds by up to half as well as unintentially blocking legitimate sites.