Rental Computers Confiscated For Acquiring Online Casino

Australia - As our beloved internet and technology becomes more advanced, increasing questions are being asked about such matters in Australia such as when is a gambling device not a gambling device, but just a computer, and vice versa... you get the idea punters.

Australian authorities confiscate a rental computer because it could be used to access online casinos, making it a potential gambling device in their eyes. A service providing computers with Internet access in Australian pubs and hotels is charged with operating an illegal gambling device. VenueNet is a marketing company whose computer kiosks are facing charges by Tabcorp that they violate exclusive gaming licenses and are real online casino.

Tabcorp pays for licensing in locations in the Australian province of Victoria, but customers using VenueNet's computer Internet connections can access online casino and sports betting sites and other competitors shopping their bets and gambling while avoiding Tabcorp. After hearing complaints, officials from the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation impounded the computer located at the Rising Sun Hotel in Melbourne.

VenueNet executives are demanding the return of their computer. They say the device is the same as those installed at airports, malls, and other locations, and is no more a gambling device than computers in the courtroom or anywhere else.

While the machines do permit users to access sports betting site including Sportsbet and online casino, it does not emphasize that connection any more than the millions of other possible websites. The computer does not accept or register bets.

VenueNet says it has damages coming from the state for impeding its business. It plans to install 200 more computer kiosks in Victoria, and says it will expand to other provinces once the Victoria case is settled.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation lodged an appeal with the Victorian Supreme Court to stop Sportsbet being heard in the magistrates court, as a third party in the case, on legal issues relating to the seizure warrant. The wagering licence, including exclusive retail rights in pubs, is held by Aussie gaming giant Tabcorp, which complained about the machine in question to authorities last year. The new wagering licence is expected to come into play in 2012.