Australia dismantles “beyond redemption” Norfolk Island Gaming Authority

Australia’s government plans to permanently dismantle the Norfolk Island Gaming Authority (NIGA) because a review found the online betting regulator was “beyond redemption.”

In April, Australia’s Minister for Territories Paul Fletcher forbid NIGA from issuing any more online gambling licenses without his ministry’s approval. Fletcher also tasked auditing firm Centium with conducting a review of NIGA’s operations.

Fletcher was prompted to act after NIGA issued a license to BetHQ, which held a white label deal with controversial Asian betting exchange CITIbet. The Philippines-licensed CITIbet has been slammed by Australian horseracing industry stakeholders and local bookmakers for handling wagers on Aussie racing without kicking back any portion of its revenue to racing.

On Friday, new Territories Minister Fiona Nash said Centium’s report “made it abundantly clear that [NIGA] is beyond redemption and that these problems cannot be resolved satisfactorily.” Nash said the findings made her “entirely confident that closing the authority is the right thing to do.”