Should be “regulator, not partner”
A gaming regulator operating on Norfolk Island off the coast of Australia will be shut down after a critical report called it “barely viable” and said its flimsy internal controls could “give rise to fraud and corruption.”
The report was issued after a two-month investigation of the Norfolk Island Gaming Authority. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the study found “a lack of transparency, oversight or resources, a disregard for risks or appropriate regulation and serious concerns over conflicts of interest in appointments.”
“The authority and the former administration have been more concerned about raising revenue from gaming licenses than having due regard to its regulatory functions,” the report said. “We recommend that it not continue to operate in its current form.”
In the most egregious example of bad practices, the regulator was found to have granted a license to BetHQ, which has been linked to Philippine bookmaker Citibet, which the newspaper described as “the world’s largest illegal betting organization.”
The report concluded that the gaming authority was “largely ineffective” and had “failed to fulfill its regulatory role to an acceptable level.”
“Gambling in Australia must be carefully regulated to ensure the integrity of our sport and to protect consumers,” said Fiona Nash, federal minister for local government and territories after the report was released. She said the report “made it abundantly clear that the authority is beyond redemption and that these problems cannot be resolved satisfactorily. As a result, I am entirely confident that closing the authority is the right thing to do.”
The Guardian reports that the gaming authority was honored at the online wagering industry’s EGR Australia Awards, which called it the best “professional services partner.”
“An authority should not be viewed as a partner; its role is that of a regulator,” the report said.
Norfolk Island also offered the best tax rate in Australia for online gaming agencies, with a maximum $300,000 a year per license. Critics have called the island a “virtual gambling tax haven.”
