Australia has introduced legislation that would impose stiff fines on online gambling operators serving local punters without a local license.

In April, Minister for Human Services Alan Tudge vowed to introduce legislation amending the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 to close the loopholes that allowed Aussie-licensed operators to offer online in-play sports betting.

On Thursday, Tudge filed the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016 (viewable here), part of the government’s three-pronged approach to revamping Australia’s online gambling market. This includes banning those in-play apps, cracking down on internationally licensed online operators and establishing a National Consumer Protection Framework (NCPF).

The Act will amend the currently “ambiguous” law to make it explicitly clear that any operator taking bets from Australian punters without a local license is breaking the law.