Australian regulator blocks 12 more illegal gambling sites — Blask data shows offshore demand retreating in Australia

Offshore Blask Index in the country has fallen to its lowest level since 2022 — as the regulator’s seven-year site blocking campaign reaches a new milestone.

Local communications and media regulator ACMA has ordered internet service providers to take down 12 more unlicensed gambling and affiliate sites. The tally of domains removed from the network since November 2019 now stands at 1,751. The latest wave included ChromaBet, Donbet, 7Signs, and Wildsino. Pointsbetz.com was singled out separately — for impersonating the licensed operator PointsBet.

Offshore demand in Australia peaked in spring 2025 before collapsing sharply

Despite years of government pressure, illegal operators steadily grew their market share throughout 2023 and 2024, reaching a peak in April 2025, when the shadow sector captured a record 68.96% of total gambling demand in the country. Licensed operators — including Sportsbet, TAB, and Ladbrokes Australia — were left with less than a third of the market.

The shift, when it came, was abrupt: in just seven months, offshore demand fell by three-quarters, hitting a record low of around 22% by November 2025. By early 2026 the figure had edged back to 30% — still half of the previous year’s peak.

The collapse coincided with ACMA’s most intensive enforcement period. In Q2 2025 alone, the regulator referred 73 sites to ISPs for blocking and issued 10 formal warnings to operators — including three to Dama N.V., one of the most active multi-brand offshore operators in the Australian market.

The effect of blocking depends on financial pressure

Over seven years, Australia has blocked 1,751 sites and more than 230 operators have exited the market. Blask data shows that the combination of long-term restrictions, strict payment controls, and timely enforcement warnings in 2025 fundamentally changed player behaviour — this is not a temporary downturn, but a structural shift.

Conventional site blocking alone produced no results for years. Only once financial pressure levers were added did the market move.