Customers no longer satisfied by virtual credits

Thanks to a loophole in federal gambling legislation, online casinos on Facebook are able to take money from players without having to pay out winnings. Players receive a number of free chips at DoubleDown casino; however, they need to buy more when they are used up.

This has resulted in a number of complaints to independent senator Nick Xenophon. Xenophon wrote to the Australian Communications and Media Authority complaining about the website and claimed it was in breach of online gaming laws.
However, the ACMA responded that the website is legal as it is not possible to win 'money or anything else of value' therefore it is not a gambling website.

DoubleDown Casino has said that they are proud of building the world's largest virtual online casino game. They said that it would not have been possible if customers did not regularly return to enjoy the games and it is entirely up to the customer if they wish to purchase chips in addition to the free ones that they receive daily.

However, in the UK Facebook is negotiating with a number of gambling operators to allow real money gambling. Facebook is hoping to give eight licenses to individual operators who can then use the website to integrate their applications. It has been reported that a large number of employees have been hired to get this initiative off the ground.

Facebook began discussions with various gaming experts, operators and affiliates such as 888, PokerStars and Gamesys during the summer of last year. It is hoped that they will offer real money gambling by March of next year but there are a number of details that need to be solved first. Issues such as the splitting of revenues, age verification and payment logistics all need some careful consideration.