The gaming industry and the Northern Territory government are considering challenging the bill in the high court. The gambling lobby claims jobs will be lost and argues that it is illogical to ban online lotteries and sports betting on the internet, when people can just as easily pick up a telephone to place their bets. The Labor party says the bill is unworkable. The legislation will not demand that internet service providers block gambling sites, but it will require Australian online gambling firms to detect and ban users based in the country. Gamblers will still be able to use sites abroad.
Critics say the rightwing Liberal party is simply in a panic over how to regulate the internet.
At state level, the Liberal government in South Australia is trying to ban any information deemed offensive from being posted on the web, adding to the impression that rightwing forces in Australia just don't get the net. But the argument that banning internet gambling is pointless is most commonly sounded by businesses that stand to make big bucks out of problem gamblers. Labor has strongly denied that its fairly laissez faire attitude towards gambling at state and federal levels is influenced by the fact that one of the party's major donors is Kerry Packer, Australia's wealthiest man, who has hefty stakes in casinos and online gambling firms. Though clumsy, the federal legislation is a rare government move against the interests of big business. With gambling companies requiring expensive licences and paying high taxes, the industry is a lucrative source of state income.