32Red has joined Vera&John and 888 Poker and withdrawn from the Australian online gaming market.
The site is now part of the Swedish Kindred Group. It notified players it would cease taking bets in the country April 3.
Australia is close to implementing new gaming regulations that essentially ban online poker and casino games. The regulations require online providers to be licensed, but does not provide any regulations to license poker and casino games.
PokerStars is also expected to leave the market when the new regulations go into effect.
The move comes as South Australia officials have called for even more stringent actions against unlicensed online providers in the country.
South Australia’s Minister for Consumer and Business Services John Rau called for decisive action to be taken to prevent harm from online gambling, saying current proposals are “cosmetic and inadequate.”
In a press release, the South Australian Government said it will call on ministers to disrupt or eliminate offshore gambling operators; prohibit any advertising before during and after sports events; prohibit inducements to participate in online gambling and introduce mandatory ID verification prior to being allowed to open an account.
“Online gambling is a growing social menace. Cosmetic change is not enough. Purveyors of online gambling are about the “normalization” of gambling. Children are a significant target of this grooming behavior,” Rau said in the release. “The predatory practice of using inducements and incentives to promote gambling is a cynical exploitation of children and the vulnerable.”
