Codeta Latest iGaming Operator To Flee Australia
Tia Winter | 20 September 2017
Codeta has become the most recent online gambling operator to join the mass exodus of iGaming brands from Australia’s market. iGaming affiliates of the casino have also been informed that Codeta will no longer be accepting Aussie players from September 15 onwards.
No new registrations at Codeta will be accepted past the aforementioned date, according to the popular casino brand. Additionally, existing players at the casino were encouraged to withdraw all of the funds in their accounts before September 14.
Codeta, a brand licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission and Curacao, is a relatively new brand in the iGaming space. The operator focuses mainly on live casino table games, but also offers traditional online slots and casino games as well.
Strict New Regulations Cause Mass Operator Exodus
The news about Codeta’s departure has come at a time when a total reform of Australia’s gambling regulatory framework is currently being completed. The new regulations, which were given the green light from the Senate in August, are removing unlicensed operators and games from the ‘grey market’ label, and instead labelling them as black market – in other words, illegal.
Foreign operators that have been offering their services to Australians without local licensing will now no longer be able to do this legally, according to the nation’s original online gambling law, the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001.
As a result of the strict new regulations, numerous iGaming companies have abandoned the Australian market, causing a mass exodus that has left thousands of Australians with very limited options in terms of safe and varied gambling environments.
Operators like Mansion Group, 888poker, partypoker, and Gaming Innovation Group have already closed their local websites. Meanwhile, LeoVegas and PokerStars are among the brands that are set to leave the tight new market over the course of this month.
WA Implements Hefty New 15% PoC Taxes
Under recently amended laws, licensed online betting and casino gaming will remain legal in Australia. However, online bookies may face tough times ahead – particularly those that operate in Western Australia.
Lawmakers in the state have just announced that they will introduce a 15% point of consumption tax on operators that serve local punters. The same tax was implemented in South Australia in July this year, and UK-facing operators also pay this PoC tax based on consumption and not the point of supply.
Responsible Wagering Australia is not pleased about the news, noting that it is disappointed in Western Australia’s decision and that the burden of the new tax may well be passed down to customers. The PoC tax will make WA one of the world’s most pricey regulated iGaming jurisdictions, with operators being forced to pay around 40% of their revenues from local punters to the state.