Legislation currently being considered by the Parliament of Australia could spell the end of legal online poker in Australia. The Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, introduced as a successor to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, passed in the House of Representatives last month, and has a strong chance of passing in the Senate when it goes to debate during the Spring 2017 parliamentary sittings.
 
Despite the fact the bill is yet to be passed, many online poker rooms are already looking to depart from Australian shores. 888 wasted no time in ditching the Australian market, withdrawing their online poker services on January 16. There’s been a great deal of speculation that PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, is looking to follow suit in the next few months.

​Thanks to improvements in web design and mobile web browsers, online gamblers have been able to get their desired action on their devices from wherever they are. But that ability hasn't been supported by app stores, including the Google Play store, which has been staunchly against hosting online betting apps on its platform. Fortunately for bettors, though, that stance is beginning to change in a way that will allow bettors in certain locations to download Android gambling apps right from Google Play.

​BetOnline have just launched a mobile version of their popular poker client. The company, founded in 2004 as an online sportsbook, first entered the online poker market with the release of BetOnline Poker in 2011. Thanks to a fantastic user interface, consistent promotions and acceptance of Bitcoin, BetOnline Poker quickly became one of the leading online poker rooms in the US. The release of their new mobile app is therefore exciting news for poker players – specifically those living in the US who don’t have many other options.

One of the biggest tests faced by the mobile gambling industry is its ability to endure through government-imposed regulatory hurdles. It’s an examination currently confronting the industry in Australia, where a government crackdown has changed bettors’ access to various products and services. Yet, in spite of numerous anti-gambling measures, the Australian market continues to display a seemingly insatiable appetite for mobile gambling.
 
Regulation Comes Thick and Fast
The measures designed to curb mobile gambling in Australia have been varied. Earlier in the year, the government pushed new online gaming rules that, if passed into law, would impose a blanket ban on online poker. The move led some offshore poker platforms to withdraw their operations, while other businesses, including major players such as PokerStars, have indicated they will block players in the Australian market if the rules are approved by parliament.

​It's rare in the gambling industry to have a site that receives very little negative attention. Crypto-currency gambling site DirectBet was one of those rare sites with which there have been little to no issues for players. But none of that matters any longer, because DirectBet has shut down unexpectedly, without any notice to speak of for its players, ending what was an unabashedly positive run in the crypto gambling industry.

What made DirectBet as special as it was is the fact that they did not require full on deposits from their players. All players had to do to be a part of the action on DirectBet was select a game that they wanted to wager on and send the amount of crypto-currency that they wanted to risk on that one event. Once the game was over, winning bets were paid back to the wallet address that the player used to send their funds to DirectBet, and it was as simple as that.

​Cryptocurrency betting platform DirectBet has suddenly shut down its operations without explanation, leaving an ample amount of Bitcoin gamblers in limbo. Growing Bitcoin transaction fees are being speculated as the reason for the abrupt closure, which came just hours after the company was running promotions on its website.

DirectBet has developed a fledgling reputation in the online sports betting space in recent years thanks to its unique service offering, which encompassed a wide-ranging sportsbook that accepted payments in both Bitcoin and altcoins such as Dash, Dogecoin and Litecoin. Like many online gambling companies that accepted cryptocurrency, DirectBet offered complete anonymity for users, allowing customers to gamble via their platform without having to create accounts nor provide sensitive data.

 
The company also offered novel features such as the ability to negotiate odds, whereby users could attempt to try and convince DirectBet to adjust their odds on specified markets. Its reputation was excellent among cryptocurrency bettors, with no reports of a failure to pay out winning bets. That reputation has now been thrown into jeopardy, however, as users have been left in the dark as to the reasons for the sudden shut down, which DirectBet has hitherto failed to explain.
 
The company website is not taking anymore bets, although a statement on the site explains that all pending bets stand and will be settled at the completion of the event.

Reports from the United States suggest US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is mulling a federal ban on all state-regulated online gambling.  In 2011, much to the delight of betting companies across the United States, the Obama administration amended the Wire Act to hand states control of legalizing internet gaming within their borders. As a result, Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey began regulating online poker, while other states approved businesses such as internet lotteries