November is proving to be a busy month in terms of gambling overhaul in Australia in online as well as offline territory.
Though gambling in casinos and at race tracks is legal in Australia, local companies are not permitted to set up gambling sites. Though online gambling accounts for only a single figure percentage of all Australian income spent on gambling, the Australian government is concerned about the approximately 700m Australian dollars (4,835 ZAR) that is poured into unregulated overseas gambling sites as Australian online gamblers seek out foreign sites to play online blackjack and other casino games. Since the Australian government cannot ban these gaming companies nor regulate how they handle betting limits, customer support, etc., plans to open up the Australian online gambling sector are in the works.
Further Australian gambling news this month included Crown Casino in Melbourne enraging blackjack players by reducing the standard 6-4 blackjack payout to 6-5 for public tables, while maintaining the standard payouts for the highroller tables. Australian blackjack players have commented bitterly on this rule change which cripples the casual player and suggests Crown holds their worth in low regard. While highrollers are too valuable to be fleeced in such a way, Crown appears to have far fewer reservations about bleeding dry the average patron. The rule change has already been approved by the Victoria state gambling regulator. This is not the first Crown casino rule change which has injured casual players. Last year Crown incensed roulette patrons by cutting down players’ odds dramatically by adding a new house number to the wheel.
