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Since then, the Australian Online Poker Alliance has spearheaded a campaign to legalize online poker, but the road has been rough. As poker advocate Joseph Del Luca revealed recently, his conversations with lawmakers made clear that they do not see the difference between online poker and online pokies. PokerStars is the largest poker site on the internet, and PokerStars does accept players from Australia. Our Australian online poker players can receive a bonus of up to $600 plus freeroll entries. We’d also like to thank the Australian Online Poker Alliance for their campaigning on behalf of the game and suggest that you consider lending them your voice if you’d like to see a regulated return of online poker to Australia. Regards, PokerStars. The “mid-September” departure date turned out to be Sept.

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• »AU Ministers May Help with Online Poker Legalization

For more than three years, Australian poker players have not been able to play their game on any major poker site. The implementation of the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016 in 2017 forced online poker operators out of the Australian market. The first to leave was 888poker, but PartyPoker and PokerStars both followed suit that same year.

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic showed just how much poker players miss their online games. So, it was natural that members of the Australian Online Poker Alliance wanted to know what could be done to convince lawmakers to take another look at online poker.

Last Time We Checked In…

Several months ago, a podcast featuring the main person championing legal online poker in Australia appeared on a podcast. Public relations expert Joseph Del Luca, also a longtime poker player and fan of the game, told the PMA Podcast hosts that the pandemic sidelined recent efforts.

Earlier in 2020, Del Luca scheduled a meeting with Communications Minister Paul Fletcher for mid-March. The two were going to devise a plan to introduce legislation to Parliament this year, so they were to start putting together the key points of the bill to exempt poker from current laws pertaining to online gambling.

Fletcher had to cancel the meeting because the Australian government was focused on the pandemic and was in the process of shutting down everything from travel to office buildings. The meeting went on an indefinite hold.

Even so, Del Luca delivered positive information – in a way.

He explained the problem with some lawmakers and the word poker, as it is so often associated with pokies or poker machines. However, many of them don’t realize that the game of poker is entirely separate. In fact, he said approximately 80% of the members of Parliament to whom he spoke about online poker believed he was referring to online pokies.

The good news about this is that educating lawmakers might be the key to finding their support for an exemption for online poker from current laws. When they understand that online poker is not a house-based slot game but a game of skill pitting players against each other, everything could change.

Poker Players Frustrated in Pandemic

For several months, poker players have been without live poker. Casinos with poker rooms and traveling tournament leagues at local clubs were off limits. Even when casinos began to open their doors in June and July, most of them did so without live poker games.

This left players with very limited options.

They took to the Two Plus Two online poker forums, specifically to a thread dedicated to Aussie online poker. The thread began in 2013 when the Australian Online Poker Alliance was a thriving organization with a website and action items for its members to try to influence members of Parliament.

The 2+2 thread is now nearly 180 pages in length.

The most recent posts began in July, when players became frustrated with a lack of communication by Del Luca. Many players had been asking for an update but hadn’t received a response.

Finally, on August 1, Del Luca did respond to a commenter in the thread. He apologized – as usual – for poor communication but just had a baby amidst the pandemic. Regardless, Del Luca and the poster named Oliver had a conversation, which Oliver posted in the thread.

First, Del Luca conveyed that he had previously – before Covid-19 – met with Families and Social Services Minister Anne Ruston. After the pandemic began, he communicated with her and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher. Both “were sympathetic to our position, particularly when it comes to the benefits a regulated market can offer to protect vulnerable Australians.”

Del Luca added, “I really can’t stress how positive the meeting was.” He noted that Ruston “totally gets where we are coming from.” The only problem is the timing, as Covid-19 has left so many people unemployed that her social services duties must be focused on those people.

Second, the three were going to revisit the issue of legal online poker in July. However, the second wave of coronavirus cases put that meeting on hold.

Next Steps Depend on Coronavirus Path

The goal, obviously, is for Del Luca to reschedule that meeting with Ruston and Fletcher.

When a commenter asked if players in Australia could be competing online by July 2021, Del Luca replied, “Too hard to say at the moment. If we can get this COVID stuff under control by the end of the year, I think that timeline still makes sense. But we are really at the mercy of the pandemic at the moment.”

Some of the players in the thread noted that they will continue writing to members of Parliament to express support for online poker. Others advocated doing it on social media. There was some support for pushing a news-centered television program to cover the online poker dilemma, but others expressed concern that the show could spin the story negatively.

They were also divided on the idea of Del Luca being the best representative. While some people expressed frustration with Del Luca’s lack of updates, others indicated that he is the best person with the best knowledge of poker and political connections.

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• »ACMA Deals Another Blow to Poker with App Ban

Australian poker players have had a tough year so far.

Midway through the third month of 2020, live poker games began to disappear. Per the Australian government and health authorities, casinos, pubs, clubs, and even bars that hosted live poker events had to shut their doors. The coronavirus pandemic also scared the general public enough that there seemed to be no private games to be found, either.

Did those players go online to compete? No. The Australian government forbid them to do so.

Further, every step that poker operators tried to take since the Covid-19-related shutdowns has been squashed by that same government.

Government Misunderstands Online Poker

Australian Online Poker Alliance Game

The Australian Parliament passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill in August 2017. The bill officially forced all online poker operators without an Australian license to leave the Aussie market.

Importantly, Australia did not offer any such licenses.

The 2017 law also gave the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) the ability to monitor the market and impose penalties as it sees fit.

By the end of 2017, PokerStars, PartyPoker, and 888poker, among many others, had exited the market and closed their virtual doors to Aussie poker players.

Since then, the Australian Online Poker Alliance has spearheaded a campaign to legalize online poker, but the road has been rough. As poker advocate Joseph Del Luca revealed recently, his conversations with lawmakers made clear that they do not see the difference between online poker and online pokies. The path to Australia-licensed poker sites is to show lawmakers the difference and prove the skill component of online poker that differentiates it from other online casino games.

Poker Leagues Try Alternatives

A number of popular poker leagues operated throughout Australia, with hundreds of participating clubs, pubs, and casinos offering satellites and tournaments. Those did rather well…until Covid-19.

At first, some of the poker leagues followed official orders and tried to wait it out, wait for the virus to pass and for venues to reopen. But as month after month passed, it became clear that the only full relief would be a vaccine.

Poker leagues, again ready to adapt, worked with venues to implement safety protocols – masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing, temperature checks – in order to host some kind of tournaments. They were willing to deal with the capacity limits and nearly any other restriction to get back into business.

However, many large casinos reopened without poker rooms, deciding that poker interactions would be too risky at this time. And in New South Wales, the government cracked down on all live poker events, classifying them as group bookings that may not exceed 10 customers per event.

League operators began to work together to find a solution and present it to NSW authorities, but that process just began within the past few weeks.

ACMA Hits APT Hard

PokerMedia Australia reported this week that ACMA cracked down – even further – on poker operators.

ACMA sent a notice to poker operators like the Australian Poker Tour (APT) on August 31 to inform them of a possible breach of Australian law.

Australian Online Poker Alliance Free

Evidently, some operators had inquired with ACMA about using apps in the Australian market – ones requiring real money – to allow players to win seats into live events. It read, in part:

“Free online poker services are not prohibited by the IGA (Interactive Gambling Act) and may be provided to customers in Australia, although it is important to note that in order for a service to be free, it must genuinely not require any form of payment, whether monetary or otherwise.”

The APT only revealed its APT APP in the last few months as a way to help players satellite into live poker tournaments. Most venues that would ordinarily host these satellites are either closed or limited and, as mentioned, not permitted to offer poker.

Australian Online Poker Alliance Games

At the time, APT CEO David Miles said he submitted the app to the ACMA to obtain approval for the benefit of its shareholders. He did obtain a legal opinion that asserted current law justified the satellites, as no cash prizes are awarded, only tournament seats.

However, the recent ACMA letter explained that the seats are things of value, thereby breaching the law.

Maybe Live Poker in Brisbane in October?

Australian Online Poker Alliance Online

There is no quitting for APT. They cannot wait to again provide poker to the masses.

In June, the APT wanted to move forward with a series at Southport Sharks on the Gold Coast for September. But in July, the APT had to cancel, as the venue “could not facilitate our series due to a scheduling conflict, as well as in response to increased public health concerns…”

They picked up their hats and moved forward. They started advertising for what would become the first live tournament series since the coronavirus lockdowns in March. This will be in Queensland in October.

The APT Brisbane will take place in the entertainment center of Eatons Hill. Action kicks off on Wednesday, October 7, and it will run through Sunday, October 11. The 14-event series would have prize pools estimated in the $450K range, cumulatively speaking.

The Main Event will be a $200 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament with four starting flights, one on October 8, two on October 9, and the last on October 10. The event will then play for the win on the final day of the series.

With fingers crossed and players asking the poker gods for a one-time, the APT hopes to bring poker back to life in October.