Online Gambling on the increase in Australia

The latest profit figures released by the gaming industry have shown a surge in the number of Australians turning to the internet to get their gambling fix. Whereas traditionally all gambling was done in local bricks and mortar 'pokies', now more people are enjoying the world wide lure of online gaming.

In South Australia the figures show that the amount of money punters spent in pokies in the last year is down by 10 million Australian dollars, with profit levels the lowest they've been in the last six years. Although the smoking ban will have contributed to the drop in profits, those in the industry say that the rise of online gambling is the real cause of the decline.

It's not good news for the Australian Government either. This drop in revenue means an unwelcome drop in taxes. And to add to the government's woes, the preferred gambling location for the majority of Australians seems to be foreign based sites that sidestep local gambling taxes. A recent surge of advertising by online gambling sites, coupled with the Government's desire to reduce the number of pokies available, has left punters with no choice but to log on and enjoy a wager at one of the many international sites on the Internet. This has resulted in a profitable tax revenue stream being diverted from the Government's coffers. 

Australian officials have started discussions on how to remedy the situation, including censoring the internet of all foreign-based online gambling sites that are not licensed to operate in Australia.