Despite the fact that it’s not exactly legal, online gambling is thriving in Australia. In a story recently found on http://news.google.com.au/, it was reported that online gambling is the fastest growing form of gambling in Australia. Gambling at online casinos and online poker rooms and betting online on sports is becoming more popular than visiting a land casino or playing the lottery.

This was reported by a recent study conducted by Southern University’s Centre for Gambling Education and Research. The research found that half of the 6,500 online gamblers they surveyed first started playing online within the past six years. Estimates are that Australian citizens spend $600 million annually on online gambling.

To complicate things, the legality of online gambling in Australia is complicated. There are no online gambling websites that are licensed, regulated or approved in any way by the government. In fact, laws ban online gambling, making it illegal for the online casinos to operate in Australia, either by accepting Australian customers or by advertising within the nation. However, it is not illegal for the Australian citizen to play online. On every transaction with an Australian player and an online casino, the casino is breaking the law but the player is not. Some in the government want to change that and pass a law making the player’s end illegal as well. Senator Nick Xenophon is the most outspoken about trying to ban online gambling from the country, thinking it causes societal problems like crime and problem gambling. According to the study, 16% of those who play casino online games are identified as problem gamblers.