Facing Battle in Australia

A leading online casino group is facing a major legal battle in Australia. This legal battle is taking place between the international online betting exchange, which was licensed in Australia last year, and the provincial government of Western Australia. The government is trying to impose its own draconian legislation. A lawyer in San Francisco named Hansen states that over a year of bitter finger-pointing between the UK-based group and Western Australia has blown up into a full fledged constitutional challenge by the site against a law that recently went into effect in Western Australia outlawing betting exchanges and online gambling sites.

The operation immediately responded to the legislation by filing a claim with the High Court of Australia, requesting that the law be overturned as unconstitutional. The law both criminalizes gambling by gamblers themselves and makes it illegal to operate betting exchanges. This is a step even the US Department of Justice has been too shy to take.

It seems that the US UIGEA, or Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, is finding its way into Western Australias lawmaking process. This comes as a major surprise to gamblers who were thrilled at the regulation and legalization of the business in Australia. Now, like the US, only time will tell what the future holds for online casino fans living down under. Surely, this will be a long, drawn-out legal battle for the Australian government and the company.