Social gaming, with no prize money being either money or money’s worth, does not require any licence given that it is not regarded as ‘gambling’ under Federal, State and Territory law including the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth) (IGA). Similarly, a skill game with no element of chance is also not generally considered gambling and does not require any licence.
Social gaming is not generally regulated by gambling regulators, however age classifications and other restrictions apply to such games. Online social games organisations must ensure that the features and functionality of individual social games do not fall within gambling laws and regulations in Australia.
Social game developers also need to ensure that they are not inappropriately targeting children and their games are purely a casual form of entertainment that do not encourage gambling behaviour.
Our gaming legal and regulatory team is immersed in the gambling industry and best positioned to advise on whether individual social games are converging into gambling products or services. There is growing community concern with social games containing gambling-like features and our team is able to advise on whether a social gaming product breaches gambling laws and regulations in Australia.
Our team frequently advise on:
Our team of gambling industry experts advise clients in a range of sectors including racing, casinos, lotteries, licensed gaming venues, gaming manufacturers, government and regulators across a spectrum of services encompassing legal, advisory and gambling compliance training services. Through the Senet Compliance Academy we provide a full spectrum of gaming compliance training courses to ensure that all staff and the venue is complying with its legal and regulatory obligations. To understand how you can meet and exceed your legal and regulatory obligations, contact the expert team at Senet.