Key takeaways:
- In order to prevent its residents from squandering money they don’t have, the Australian government forbade the use of credit cards and crypto for online gambling.
- According to the government, companies that don’t follow the new regulations risk fines of up to roughly 234,750 Australian dollars ($155,000).
In order to prevent its residents from squandering money they don’t have, the Australian government forbade the use of credit cards and crypto for online gambling.
Australia began forbidding the use of credit cards or digital currency for online gambling platforms on June 11, according to a report in The Canberra Times. According to the government, companies that don’t follow the new regulations risk fines of up to roughly 234,750 Australian dollars ($155,000).
The regulations cover innovative credit products, digital wallets connected to credit cards, and crypto like Bitcoin. The new internet betting regulations are in accordance with Australia’s offline gaming legislation.
However, credit card payments are still accepted in some circumstances, such as online lottery purchases. According to Kai Cantwell, CEO of Responsible Wagering Australia, a separate group representing gaming service providers with Australian licenses, the change facilitates self-control. He declared:
“This is an important measure to protect customers, making it easier for people to stay in control of their own gambling behavior.”
The executive suggested that the government should expand the ban to include excluded gaming types. Cantwell thinks that people will switch to less regulated forms of gambling, where they are more likely to be harmed if safety precautions aren’t uniform across all gambling platforms.
Additionally, the gaming business was granted a six-month transition period prior to the full ban being implemented on June 11. The nation’s communications watchdog now has the authority to impose the new limitations.
It’s well known that crypto users bet on various items, from the newest memecoins to significant regulatory rulings like the acceptance of spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
On January 11, users of the betting site Polymarket wagered $12 million on the approval of the ETFs. Crypto traders also bet on the outcome of the spot Ether ETF decision in addition to the spot Bitcoin ETF decision in the US. Bets on the ETH ETF decision hit $2.4 million in March.
On May 23, the ETF was officially approved, ending the wager. Even though cryptocurrency users make important judgments, they also engage in trivial wagering, such as guessing the number of times billionaire Elon Musk will post or the amount of temperature that will rise in May.
The Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) was launched on the Cboe Australia exchange on Tuesday, June 4. Unlike its cash-created US equivalents, investors can redeem the ETF in kind. To mark the introduction of the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF, Monochrome invited 120 guests to Sydney.
