His proposed amendment to legislation would impact all apps and websites that take money from users to play, while providing virtual chips as ‘cash outs’ instead of actual dollars.
“Online gambling is a real problem and currently escapes legislation,” said Wilkie. “They basically replicate online casino games, which are banned in Australia. These [social casinos] are not banned because they don’t ‘pay out’ money. This is gambling and anyone who tries to tell you it's not is wrong.”
While online casino games are illegal in Australia, social casinos are classified as entertainment and not subject to any gambling regulations, essentially falling within a grey area. These app-based products simulate classic casino games – such as blackjack and roulette – but players can never cash out their virtual chips for money.
However, Wilkie is determined to implement change and aims to push Federal Government into action this year. "In my opinion, these should be regulated in Australia in exactly the same way as mainstream online casino games [because] it attracts kids and people who haven’t gambled before, and that means they need to be banned,” he added.
Relatively new on the gaming scene, social casinos have already garnered a substantial following, becoming a multibillion-dollar industry in a country known for having the world's largest gambling forfeiture, amounting to an average loss of $1,200 per person each year. Additionally, data from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation shows that Australians spent a total of $25 billion on gambling between 2017 and 2018.
Despite the statistics, International Social Games Association chief executive Luc Delany argued that social casino games purely serve as a form of entertainment, adding that despite heavy scrutiny, no new regulations of social casino-themed games had been adopted.
"That's because casino-themed social games offer no opportunity to win money or anything of value,” Delany said. “Video games, including social games, fall under a range of consumer protection regulations, as do all forms of digital entertainment, which we believe is appropriate."
