ACMA Pushes for Tougher Oversight of Offshore Casino Ads Targeting Australians
19 October 2026
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is pushing for tougher rules to crack down on offshore online casino operators that continue to target Australian players with advertisements, despite clear prohibitions under the country's Interactive Gambling Act.
Current law makes it illegal for operators to provide or advertise online casino games to people physically in Australia. But enforcement is limited by the jurisdictional challenges of chasing global social media platforms and offshore websites.
Current Rules Leave Gaps
According to ACMA, the regulator has tools to combat illegal offshore gambling but significant loopholes remain. In a 2023 report, the national broadcaster ABC found that casino BitStarz, registered in Curaçao, continued to hawk its services via targeted Facebook ads in Australia for months after it was formally warned to stop in 2021.
Australian officials have exchanged correspondence with Curacao demanding that the Curacao authorities clamp down, without success, says Singapore-based gambling expert Shane Defet. But under current laws, as the ABC discovered, ACMA can only pursue large-scale publishers if it's satisfied that most people who access the content are in its jurisdiction. It's a catch.
New Bill Would Require Unilateral Blocking, Payment Restrictions
A new bill slated to take effect in 2027 would not only make it easier to pursue globally hosted publishers but place restrictions on a wider slate of online intermediaries, Defet adds. A 2024 report in AgendaWatch said that in a major overhaul, ACMA would gain new powers to issue blanket removal notices for illegal gambling ads on online content services. Internet service providers, domain name system providers, app distribution services, and search engines would be required to block access to any sites classified as illegal operators by the regulator. Processing payments for illegal gambling services would also be outlawed.
"What they are trying to do is to really make it so that you can't operate in Australia unless we formally say that you can, and ordinarily you would do that through product regulation," Defet says.
Not only barring illegal operators explicitly, the new advertising rules are also widely reported to include a ban on high-profile endorsements by celebrities, sports stars, or influencers beginning 2027. The new prohibitions will cover venues including television, radio, news sites, online games, and social media. These measures complement long-standing Australian rules against gambling advertisements during certain times and in many printed media.
Gambling Advertising Finally Going on the Ropes
As Defet says, the real power of this proposed overhaul is in the categorical nature of what's prohibited, the involvement of payment processing, and the domestic penalties. "It's kind of a beefed up mandatory system," he says.
ACMA has published guidance around the new advertising rules that will take effect in 2027. Compliance resources on ACMA's site outline that online gambling companies must obtain an AUSTRAC license to operate in the country, and players are banned from accessing any unlicensed offshore websites. ACMA maintains a blacklist of gambling websites that is subject to blocking by member ISPs.
Complaints can be lodged directly with ACMA for investigations which can lead to enforcement action. If the regulator finds that an overseas company is violating the rules, it can cooperate with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, the country's financial services regulator, to cut off access or disrupt transactions.
Still, updating the Interactive Gambling Act to reflect a major expansion into the digital sphere remains imperative. Sampath Kumar, principal at Insights Now in Perth, a research consultancy, says it may open avenues for more detailed analysis into the relationship between gambling advertising and problem gambling, including examining connections between advertisements, high-exposure social gaming sites, and prevalence rates.