South Australia bans esports gambling

The state government in South Australia has moved to stamp out all forms of esports wagering. Forbidden

Consumer and Business Services Minister John Rau has informed the Independent Gambling Authority that it should not approve betting on competitive gaming events, irrespective of where the event occurs.

This includes for instance The International, the Dota 2 tournament which is currently underway in Seattle, USA.

Rau said of the decision: “Children are particularly vulnerable to the attraction of gambling on sporting contests conducted on the platform of video games.

“The Government is determined to keep our children cyber safe. We do not want them to be introduced to gambling under the guise of a game.”

It seems likely that this decision was swayed by the skin gambling drama which has been in the press recently after it came to light about just how much money was being ploughed into unregulated skins sites. Since Valve’s cease and desist letters went out however many of these have shut down or at least temporarily closed for business.

In the north of Australia meanwhile esports gambling remains legal.