News

Sunday, 25 July 2010 07:52

When Australia got a new Prime Minister, there were hopes in the industry for a more liberal view of online gambling. Those hopes have just been dashed.

It seems that Australia's new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard has an even more draconian view on what the country's citizens should and should not be able to get access to via the Internet. Her agenda for online gambling appears stricter than her predecessor, Kevin Rudd as it seems from a recent radio interview that she is strongly in favour of protecting the innocent from themselves.

Welsh born Gillard, 48 who was elected as the new Labour Party leader after Rudd withdrew and resigned from the job, gave an interview on Darwin Radio where she made her scathing attack on the Internet's apparently evil underbelly. She made the comparison with cinema goers who are restricted in what they can and can't watch by the film censors and related this to the way that the same material should not otherwise be available to access on the Internet.

The new PM's intentions have been made quite clear by her statements in that she will make it her business to pursue censorship where she believes it is necessary, despite that direction being seen by many as draconian and even repressive. She added that does not intend to place the Internet's legitimate uses in jeopardy, but she believes that people will share her repulsion for some aspects of what can be accessed via this medium.

This latest twist in the tale of the Australian Productivity Commission's attempts to try and have online gambling regulated and licensed has created quite a set back for those who want to legally gamble over the Internet in Australia. It seems their logical and progressive suggestions for the future of the Internet gambling industry are at variance with the way the government intends to pursue the issue. By voicing her ‘repulsion’ for online gambling in the country, Gillard has totally rejected the recommendations made by the Commission.

This suggests that the present government is outwardly anti-gambling and appears to be set to impose such internet filters that will affect gambling as well as any other content they deem undesirable. To that end, discussions are being held with Internet service providers to find ways that the government can implement filters that will censor certain topics on the Internet which includes restrictions on all forms of online gambling.

Naturally, Internet users are unhappy with the new Prime Minister's attitude. How far they will allow their elected politicians to dictate their right to freedom of choice is yet to be seen, but governments should be aware that voters do not like to be dictated to when it comes to how they choose to live and be entertained.