Codeta has become yet another online gambling brand to join the mass departure of international iGaming operators from the Australian market. Online gambling affiliates promoting the casino have been informed that Codeta will shut its doors for Australian players from September 15.
No new registrations will be accepted from the above date and existing Codeta players were encouraged to withdraw their funds before September 14.
Holding licenses by the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission, and Curacao, Codeta is a relatively new online casino brand that focuses on live table games, but offers other gaming options, as well.
News about Codeta leaving the Australian online gambling market have sprung at a time when a sweeping reform of the nation’s gambling regulatory framework is being implemented. The new regulations, approved by the Australian Senate in early August, are extracting unlicensed online casino games and poker from their state of gray-market operations and are defining them as black-market ones.
In other words, international operators that have been servicing Australian players without holding licenses from local regulators since the introduction of the nation’s original remote gambling law – the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 – will no longer be able to do so legally.
As a result from the recent re-regulation of the local market, a number of gambling companies have left Australia, causing a massive exodus that will leave Australian players with no chance to play in a relatively safe gambling environment.
Gambling operators such as 888poker, partypoker, Mansion Group, Gaming Innovation Group have already closed their Australian operations. PokerStars and LeoVegas are among the brands slated to leave the market within the next few days.
Lawmakers Target Licensed Online Bookmakers with New Tax Regulations
Under Australia’s recently amended gambling laws, the provision of licensed online sports betting operations will remain legal in the nation. However, tough times may be coming for online bookmakers, particularly the ones operating in the state of Western Australia.
Western Australian lawmakers announced earlier this week that they would introduce a 15% Point of Consumption tax on operators servicing local bettors. The same tax was introduced in South Australia in July. Here it is also important to note that UK-facing operators are also taxed based on the point of consumption and not on the point of supply.
News about the new taxation regime were not welcomed by Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA), the body that represents, lobbies for, and protects the interests of the nation’s online sports betting industry. The RWA told media that it was disappointed by the Western Australia’s decision to implement its own system for taxing operators instead of joining a federal sports betting taxation plan. The body also warned that the burden of the new tax will be passed on the betting customers.
The Point of Consumption tax will make Western Australia one of the world’s most expensive regulated jurisdictions to operate in. Including the new tax, Western Australia-facing operators will have to contribute around 40% of their revenue from local players to the state government.
