The government of Australia recently took a stand against online poker by asking the Apple store to remove all poker related applications and specified two specific apps for immediately removal. Australian Senator Dr Richard Di Natale has been one of the main leaders who wants all forms of online poker to be stopped. It was during the month of April 2013, when he went on record to state
“We don’t allow online poker in Australia for Australian people under the Interactive Gambling Act”.
On the heels of this ban on online poker apps, Poker Deluxe an Australian based poker company recently announced that it has successfully raised over $500,000 and plans to donate the cash to help the local community. Poker Delux will specifically look to assist a large number of local sporting clubs who will look to upgrade their facilities and purchase new sporting equipment.
Poker Deluxe is located in Melbourne and is responsible for hosting numerous poker events across all Australian cities. These events serve a number of purposes but fund raising is also one of the major objectives.
In a statement, Paul Walvisch said
“Our goal is to raise over one million dollars for sporting clubs around Australia by the end of 2014 and we’re proud to reach the halfway point. Local sporting clubs are already struggling to stay afloat and the odds are against them in many cases. The recent cuts to State Government funding in South Australia, and the potential for other states to follow, means that many sporting clubs will need to rely on member support and fundraising opportunities to survive.”
Poker Deluxe and other Australian poker companies could benefit greatly by launching online poker apps as the Australian poker market is hot right now. Not only will the additional revenue bring in taxes for the Australian government and their respective states but it will most likely encourage more companies to give back to the community in one form or the other.
Over the last decade the popularity of poker in the Australian market has grown and the two main reasons behind this could be Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 WSOP Main Event win along with local Aussie Joe Hachem winning the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Australians are also looking to play online poker from the comfort of their home and mobile phone, this is because statistics show that a number of players from across the world have proven that you can make a living by playing online poker.
However, it remains to be seen if good deeds and charity donations can sway the Australian government into reconsidering its stand on the online poker industry.
