This week, it was announced that TabCorp’s profits have declined y 63% over the course of the past year. Ever since the pokie operator lost out on its Victorian duopoly, TabCorp has seen a steep loss of revenue – and the company believes that offshore gambling is partially to blame.
With the rise of digital gambling, Australian operators like TabCorp have to compete with offshore operators that provide online casino games to residents. The country’s Interactive Gambling Act prohibits this, but has yet to enforce the law, leaving local, licensed operators to compete with companies that are based overseas.
“An offshore operator should not be allowed to take an Australian resident bet,” TabCorp CEO David Attenborough told BusinessDay.
Many countries around the world have implemented laws that prohibit residents from playing casino games and wagering at international gaming websites. TabCorp would like to see the Australian government take a similar route.
This is quite a controversial stance, however. In some cases, this is seen as enacting an online gambling monopoly. As such, the federal government would have to tread very lightly if it wanted to restrict residents’ access to international online casinos.