Illegal online casino in Australia to shut down

Sunday 17th of April 2016

An Australian-focused online casino that illegally provides real-money casino games may soon have its local website shut down after years of flying under the radar, local media reports.

According to The New Daily, the Emu Group Ltd has been operating since 2012, touting itself as the leading provider of online casino games in Australia.

The operator claims to have 10,000 Australian subscribers.

Under the Interactive Gambling Act, promoting online casinos is prohibited in Australia.

The registered owner of the domain, Jeff Muller, a hairdresser in Gold Coast, denied any connection with the gambling operation.

“That is all news to me,” said Mr Muller. “I have nothing to do with this website.”

Muller said he was now seeking legal advice to remove his name from the registry.

According to an investigation from The New Daily, EmuCasino, which operates through three internet domain names – www.emucasino.com.au, www.emucasino.com and www.emucasino.net, is owned by holding company EMU Inc, incorporated in Panama.

It is authorised to operate a casino over the internet under a licence issued by the gaming regulator of Curacao.

A number of payment companies including Australia Post subsidiary POLi Payments, are listed on the website for Australians to access services offered by EmuCasino.

Last week, The New Daily revealed POLi Payments, a subsidiary of an Australian government-owned postal company has been providing financial services to illegal offshore online casinos.

It was not clear what has been the response from authorities just yet.

Interactive Gaming Crackdown Illegal