Australia is one of the countries in which games are firmly rooted in society. Looking at the numbers, over 80 percent of Australian adults take part in some form of play.
This could be the maximum game speed on the planet. Moreover, the country’s gaming industry employs over 30,000 taxpayers, accounting for a significant percentage of annual income.
When it comes to certain types of games, Texas Hold’em and gambling, in general, should be seen as some of the most famous games among Australian gamblers.
To understand that this exciting sport has become popular in the country, we take a look at the poker history of Australia, as well as look at the major events that shaped the country’s relationship with poker. So let’s get down to business!
Why did Australians start to love poker?
The people of Australia have always loved different card matches. Long before poker, they enjoyed games like euchre, hearts, etc.
As a result, poker only appeared in Australia for a couple of decades, but the locals quickly chose the match, and right here it became one of their favorite options for players. With a pure passion for the game in general and a wide variety of card games, Australians quickly adopted poker.
Looking at how well developed the Australian currency market is today, it’s easy to take into account that Aussie poker has been around for a century, shaping the culture.
The simple truth is that, like most US imports, poker has only been common in Australia for the past few decades.
Obviously, like most former British colonies, most Australians have been making maps by hand for centuries. However, poker, like various popular casino games, did not enjoy wide coverage until the advent of the Internet.
How was it like before the 90s
Until the 90s, Australians mostly played poker at home and knew just as much about the match as they could watch popular American shows and movies.
In addition, although there are currently casinos in Australia, poker matches were not available as other traditional table games or even real-income slots and poker machines.
Once the Internet began to become a fairly common part of every household, online poker rooms began to flourish in Australia. By the late 90s, Aussie poker gambling enthusiasts were well acquainted with the popular varieties of games.
How Aussie Millions changed everything in the 90s
Back in 1997, poker was introduced at the famous Crown Casino in Melbourne. A year later, Australian gamblers were watching the very first significant poker tournament, the Australian Championship of Poker, now often referred to as the Aussie Millions, approaching.
Over time, the Aussie Millions has become one of the most obvious high roller tournaments, including some of the largest buy-ins in the history of the match:
- This trend started in 2006 when all 100,000 Nolimit HoldCeltics Challenges were involved. At the moment, this is the maximum bet for almost any poker tournament in the world.
- Since 2011, buy-ins have reached another album as the Aussie Millions introduced a $ 250,000 buy-in championship this season.
In more than two years since the launch of Aussie poker, I have watched a fantastic number of poker winners take first place.
What is the gaming situation now?
Back in 2013 and 2014, Australians participated in the Asia Pacific World Collection of Poker held at the Crown Casino for two years.
Interesting fact: the very first of these championships were celebrated by Daniel Negreanu, who won the first set with hands in the final, being one of the twos.
The gaming situation in Australia is very similar to that in the United States, as each country has a unique pair of gaming laws.
However, a gap between both states is that betting is legal in most of Australia’s countries; you will simply find many rules and restrictions depending on where you live.
There are now over 100 poker tables in the country scattered across many amazing online casinos.
In addition, video poker and poker machines, in particular, enjoy a huge reputation in Australia. For example, although Australia has a smaller population than the United States, there are five times more slot machines.
Poker is indeed prevalent in Australian society, and it is also a regular concern.
An estimated 80,000 to 160,000 Australian adults (just one percent of people) have severe gaming problems and are twice as likely to deal with moderate gaming problems.
The huge popularity of online poker in Australia
Since the late 90s, internet poker has continued to be widespread in Australia. The early 2000s were a golden year for internet poker in Australia, when a whole production of Australian gamblers jumped on this growing internet gambling craze.
It lasted for over 10 years but was abruptly ended if the Interactive Gambling Act of 20-16 was passed.
Back in Australia, the Aussie poker arena triumphed because this law had a significant impact on online operators, especially overseas.
While the bill’s main purpose was to curb illegal sports gambling, it inadvertently restricted foreign gambling sites, including online poker platforms.
This has led to a massive exodus of foreign gaming websites as well as the exodus of major operators from the Australian sector.
But some websites still work with Australian footballers, so there are still a fantastic number of alternatives for those trying to play a couple of poker hands online.
Australia has had a turbulent poker history, and its own future is just as inconsistent, at least when it comes to internet poker in this narrative.
There may be good news
If this happens, these programs can continue to provide such services as they already did before the Gambling Act 2016.
With numerous poker rooms and casinos across the country, poker players can enjoy live poker matches without limits or restrictions.