Crisis time in Australia [Senate inquiry underway]

Originally posted by Lazza61
The latest I've heard is that the preferred model for implementation is to force Australian ISPs to block online poker sites. The view of a group representing most ISPs are vehemently opposed to it and would likely lobby and block the Liberal Party's plan.

Another positive is that if the Liberals' get an absolute majority in the Senate, then online poker won't be high on their hit list. One reason for this is that the Liberal's are committed to dismantling some key Labour party legislation of the last 2 years. The second reason is with an absolute majority in both houses, the Liberals will be able to push all their legislation through without having to do deals with Nick Xenophon (independent anti-gambling wowser).

I'm no pro myself but I would miss online poker and be forced to play online backgammon. They have worse bad beats than poker.

Another positive is the stance of fellow anti-gambling advocate Independent Andrew Wilkie. Wilkie has NO PROBLEM with online poker at all. He sees the problem gambling areas for what they are - Poker Machines (Slots), horseracing and to a lesser extent sports betting.

I am optimistic that any changes to Australia's IGA will be difficult and time consuming to implement.

The thing is that it shouldn't be on their agenda at all, they don't understand that poker is a game of skill and is in no way shape or form as a "Pokie Machine"

Originally posted by justkyle88

Originally posted by Lazza61
The latest I've heard is that the preferred model for implementation is to force Australian ISPs to block online poker sites. The view of a group representing most ISPs are vehemently opposed to it and would likely lobby and block the Liberal Party's plan.

Another positive is that if the Liberals' get an absolute majority in the Senate, then online poker won't be high on their hit list. One reason for this is that the Liberal's are committed to dismantling some key Labour party legislation of the last 2 years. The second reason is with an absolute majority in both houses, the Liberals will be able to push all their legislation through without having to do deals with Nick Xenophon (independent anti-gambling wowser).

I'm no pro myself but I would miss online poker and be forced to play online backgammon. They have worse bad beats than poker.

Another positive is the stance of fellow anti-gambling advocate Independent Andrew Wilkie. Wilkie has NO PROBLEM with online poker at all. He sees the problem gambling areas for what they are - Poker Machines (Slots), horseracing and to a lesser extent sports betting.

I am optimistic that any changes to Australia's IGA will be difficult and time consuming to implement.

The thing is that it shouldn't be on their agenda at all, they don't understand that poker is a game of skill and is in no way shape or form as a "Pokie Machine"

poker is a game of luck (at least as far as tax is concerned ♦) and should remain that way!

Originally posted by thazar

Originally posted by justkyle88

Originally posted by Lazza61
The latest I've heard is that the preferred model for implementation is to force Australian ISPs to block online poker sites. The view of a group representing most ISPs are vehemently opposed to it and would likely lobby and block the Liberal Party's plan.

Another positive is that if the Liberals' get an absolute majority in the Senate, then online poker won't be high on their hit list. One reason for this is that the Liberal's are committed to dismantling some key Labour party legislation of the last 2 years. The second reason is with an absolute majority in both houses, the Liberals will be able to push all their legislation through without having to do deals with Nick Xenophon (independent anti-gambling wowser).

I'm no pro myself but I would miss online poker and be forced to play online backgammon. They have worse bad beats than poker.

Another positive is the stance of fellow anti-gambling advocate Independent Andrew Wilkie. Wilkie has NO PROBLEM with online poker at all. He sees the problem gambling areas for what they are - Poker Machines (Slots), horseracing and to a lesser extent sports betting.

I am optimistic that any changes to Australia's IGA will be difficult and time consuming to implement.

The thing is that it shouldn't be on their agenda at all, they don't understand that poker is a game of skill and is in no way shape or form as a "Pokie Machine"

poker is a game of luck (at least as far as tax is concerned ♦) and should remain that way!

We are lucky in Australia. Due to an ATO (Australian Taxation Office) ruling in 1991, proceeds from Poker are not taxable unless they benefit a business.

Joe Hachem was not taxed a single cent on his ME win. However it took him about 6 months to recover the 30% the casino withholds for tax purposes in the US.

This is taken from the Dept of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy final report

Online Poker

In recommending that a five-year pilot be implemented to enable the licensing of operators to provide online poker tournaments to Australian-based customers, the DBCDE emphasised that its conclusion was based on the fact that the IGA has had little impact in limiting the provision of online gaming services by overseas-based operators. Given the large number of Australian consumers accessing prohibited online gaming services and the lack of sufficient harm minimisation and consumer protection measures taken by these overseas operators, the DBCDE considered it obvious that the status quo could not be allowed to remain and that a more appropriate approach was to change from regulation based on prohibition to one of permissive regulation.

The DBCDE concluded that online tournament poker was the least-risky form of online gaming based on the research that has been conducted. For this reason, only online tournament poker should be liberalised, while online cash poker should continue to be prohibited. Further, the DBCDE clarifies that the benefits of limiting this pilot solely to online poker tournaments was that:

this type of online gaming had less characteristics associated with problem gambling;
the number of consumers that play online tournament poker is relatively small and thus, suitable for a pilot; and
despite the prohibitions in the IGA, some jurisdictions may view tournament poker as a form of competition as opposed to gambling since it is a game that is partly of skill.
It was proposed that the five-year pilot be subject to various limitations, including:
licensed online gambling operators must cease offering higher-risk online gaming services to Australian-based customers;
licensed online gambling operators must comply with the proposed national harm minimisation and consumer protection measures;
there must be a minimum break in play for players after they have completed a tournament and have been playing for a defined period;
player returns must be transparent to players before they enter tournaments;
television advertising of the services must not be permitted other than on programs that broadcast poker tournaments; and
licensed online gambling operators must make an appropriate contribution to fund support services for problem gamblers.
In the submissions received in response to the Interim Report, the Northern Territory government expressed its interest and willingness to be the host jurisdiction of any pilot trial of online poker to be provided by Australian-licensed online gaming operator.4

The proposed five-year pilot raises uncertainties in respect of the commercial viability of being an Australian-licensed online gaming operator due to the limited return available from the conduct of online poker tournaments (as compared to cash poker games). Further, there is a risk that the licensing regime may not be extended at the expiration of the five-year pilot. As a result of this possibility, operators may be reluctant to apply for a licence.

So all us Aussies will be MTT regs?

Originally posted by justkyle88
So all us Aussies will be MTT regs?

Well that's from the actual report which the Labor Party endorses. When the Liberals get in on Saturday, either nothing will change or we will end up with nothing at all.

The one thing I'm certain about is Tony Abbott wants a blanket ban on all unlicenced online interactive gaming.

After all it was the Liberals themselves who put pressure on Apple to remove mobile poker apps from their app store for Australians.

lol. Tony Abbott is such a hypocrite.

He plans to abolish The National gambling regulator and replace it with an advisory council made up of members from Clubs Australia.

Most of the clubs that make up Clubs Australia derive a significant portion of their profits from poker machines (slots). And he is giving regulatory control to these people. WTF

Apparently going to the local RSL or Leagues Club and doing your arse week in and week out is not Abbott's definition of a problem gambler.

With anti-gambling advocates screaming for $1 caps on machines and limited withdrawals from ATMs., Abbott wants to hand control of regulating the industry to the clubs themselves.

Apparently you are NOT a problem gambler if you destroy your life in a bricks and mortar establishment, but you are if you gamble anonymously online.

You know, fair dinkum, fair suck of the sav and all that, but doesn't this somehow seem wrong.

http://www.pokerlistings.com/roy-bhasin-online-poker-in-australia-won-t-change-anytime-soon-73074

Roy doesn't seemed concerned.
I don't know what he's basing this on though, he says that the IGA has been in place since 2001 without being enforced so there's not much reason to worry. But reading straight from the coalitions website they specifically say that they WILL be enforcing the IGA.

I just hope he knows something I don't know

Originally posted by dannywratten
http://www.pokerlistings.com/roy-bhasin-online-poker-in-australia-won-t-change-anytime-soon-73074

Roy doesn't seemed concerned.
I don't know what he's basing this on though, he says that the IGA has been in place since 2001 without being enforced so there's not much reason to worry. But reading straight from the coalitions website they specifically say that they WILL be enforcing the IGA.

I just hope he knows something I don't know

For Roy it would be just inconvenience. To keep his PokerStars sponsorship, he can and would relocate.

For most Aussie online players, that is not an option.

I hope he does knows something we don't. But as far as an online poker lobby group goes, the best we have is Joe Hachem's Twitter account and how many MPs read that.

It's an extremely dark day in Australian politics. The Liberal party is heading for a landslide victory in the House Of Representatives. In the Senate, the balance of power will still be held by Greens/Independents.

This is extremely worrying. Abbott has made it clear that if the Senate blocks his legislation that it will constitute a trigger for a double dissolution of Parliament.

The upshot of this is that the half of the Senate that are not up for re-election would also be forced to the polls where the Liberals could reasonably expect to pick up the seats necessary to take control of the Senate and have absolute power and majority in both houses.

I feel sick.

Anyone got an update now Abbott is official going to fist us?

Originally posted by justkyle88
Anyone got an update now Abbott is official going to fist us?

Atm things are looking pretty positive. Even though the Liberals dominated the House of Reps, their dominance didn't flow through to the Senate.

That leaves Labor and the Greens as an obvious blocking alliance because they both want to stop Abbott from repealing the carbon tax.

That leaves the Liberals to try to make deals with up to 6 Independent or minor parties to get his legislation through the Senate.

Methinks he'll have his work cut out, so for the moment no changes.

If the Liberals send an anti-gaming bill to the Senate, it will be sent back with recommendations of changes which is where Labor's model may see light.

Had a bit of a laugh at this.

CANBERRA, Australia (TheDC) – Australian voters delivered a crushing defeat to the country’s ruling Labour Party in elections over the weekend amid beer shortages and a spike in boomerang attacks.

Prime Minister-elect Koala McDidgeridoo, the leader of the center-right Liberal Party, celebrated the outcome by “havin’ a naughty” at a small Darwin brothel Saturday night.

“From today I declare that Australia is under new management and Australia is once more open for business,” McDidgeridoo told roughly 20 supporters and prostitutes who had assembled to hear his victory speech.

“Right, now show us your tits,” he added.

Later in the evening, outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rudd told dejected Labour supporters that he would be stepping down as leader of the party and praised McDidgeridoo as a “sharp cunt.”

“Never would’a happened if we hadn’t let the fuckin’ kangaroos vote,” he said immediately before vomiting. Rudd was forced to pay a small fine for this comment, as kangaroos are categorized as an indigenous people in the country’s hate speech law.

Rudd, who was forced to step down in 2010 but was reinstated earlier this year, will go down in history as the first Australian leader to fly in a plane.

“It’s hard to argue he hasn’t helped modernize the country,” Thom Hennessy, a professor of Australian studies at Georgetown University, told The Daily Caller. “Keep in mind that most Australians didn’t have indoor plumbing until this century.”

This story is one of the saddest I have ever read. How could parents ever ignore young children for months?

They died forgotten

There is definitely a point in banning online poker in Australia.

I'm kinda on the fence on this issue. (partly because I don't wanna lose you ♦)

Originally posted by tommygecko
There is definitely a point in banning online poker in Australia.

I'm kinda on the fence on this issue. (partly because I don't wanna lose you ♦)

Even if they banned real money online poker in Australia, I would still be coming to PokerStrategy.

I would just have to crush play money.

Originally posted by Lazza61

Originally posted by tommygecko
There is definitely a point in banning online poker in Australia.

I'm kinda on the fence on this issue. (partly because I don't wanna lose you ♦)

Even if they banned real money online poker in Australia, I would still be coming to PokerStrategy.

I would just have to crush play money.

There's a good documentary coming out about play money pros here that might be worth checking out before you enter the world of real poker.

Anymore updates on this issue?

Hey tommy,

No, there's been no movement and probably unlikely to be any until mid next year at the earliest.

This is because Parliament probably won't consider anything but urgent financial bills, if in fact they do sit again this year.

Which means they won't convene until late February or early March next year.

So I would expect this thread to remain fairly quiet for some time.

So you'll have to put up with Aussie luckboxes for a while yet.

Cheers

Laz

The Right Honourable Tony Abbott MP. Prime Minister Of Australia.