A company that provided illegal online gambling services has been fined millions after being taken to court by the national media watchdog.
But it is unlikely the money will be paid.
Diverse Link Pty Ltd has been ordered to pay $5 million for contravening interactive gambling legislation, in a judgment delivered in the Federal Court on Monday.
It followed civil action by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in the Federal Court against Rhys Edward Jones, Diverse Link Pty Ltd and Brenton Lee Buttigieg.
The court earlier found Diverse Link provided a prohibited interactive gambling service through the service Redraw Poker between March 15, 2021 and April 13 the following year.
The company contravened law providing that a person must not provide an Australian-based prohibitive interactive gambling service that has a designated country-customer link, Federal Court Justice David Thomas said in his published judgment.
The service operated for an extended time, was sophisticated and offered the ability to play poker online for money from computers, phones and other devices.
The process involved registration and the purchase and redeeming of chips used in playing poker in the Redraw Poker clubs, Justice Thomas said.
Chips worth $1 each were acquired through bank transfers or bitcoin payments.
“The process was unregulated and there were no controls and no way in which problem compulsive gamblers were assisted,” he said.
Justice Thomas found deposits of about $4.2 million linked to the contravening conduct, but that did not take bitcoin purchases into account.
Two people who reported Redraw Poker to ACMA said they had lost thousands of dollars.
“There is no responsible gambling feature, allowing people to make multiple accounts under fake identities … I have lost thousands at this site and asked to be banned multiple times but they can’t honour requests or just don’t have the care or capacity,” Justice Thomas quoted one as saying.
There was virtually no likelihood of the $5 million being recovered as the company did not take part in proceedings and was to be deregistered by ACMA, but that was irrelevant, Justice Thomas found.
“A penalty at that level is, on the evidence before me, more than merely the cost of doing business and will give effect to the purpose of general deterrence.”
The case was the first involving civil penalties for contraventions of the particular section of the legislation.