An online lottery banned in Australia is streamed live from Melbourne
In a shocking display of defiance, an Australian-run online casino banned in its own country is streaming live from Melbourne, processing billions of dollars of cryptocurrencies every month.
Shuffle.com, the company behind the live stream, has been at the center of controversy for its lack of transparency and oversight. Despite being banned in Australia, key executives are able to participate in the live broadcasts, which feature slots games and a weekly lottery with massive jackpots.
The Game Show
Four young men, including Ishan Haque, the company's CEO, were locked in a makeshift prison cell at an undisclosed Melbourne location. They attempted to regain their freedom by spinning slots on Shuffle's online casino.
Haque has been central in the company's marketing efforts, recruiting an army of what he calls "micro-influencers" from the US and other countries. The influencers broadcast themselves gambling from their bedrooms and purpose-built studios, often with millions of followers engaged in the live chatrooms.
The Affiliate Relationships
Shuffle affiliate BennySlots streams a gambling session to his fans. (Supplied: Youtube/BennySlots)
The affiliates of Shuffle are entitled to a cut of the money lost by players they have referred to the company. This sets up a complicated dynamic, where the more their fans lose, the more the streamers stand to gain.
Mark R Johnson, a gaming culture researcher at the University of Sydney, has watched dozens of hours of gambling live streams across various online casinos. Many streamers demonstrate signs of disordered thinking around gambling, as do the viewers in the live chatrooms.
The Paradigm Shift
"From an ethical perspective, it's sad to watch these harmful ideas be perpetuated and go unchallenged," said Dr Johnson. "The affiliate relationships offered by online casinos have created a paradigm shift in live streaming culture."
Stake, another prominent online casino, was the first to bring this form of influencer marketing into the mainstream, signing some of the world's popular streamers to multi-million-dollar deals.
The Success of Shuffle
Shuffle is accepting around $2 billion worth of deposits each month, according to analytics service Tanzanite. This puts Shuffle among the top five "crypto casinos" globally, just two years after its launch.
The company's success comes despite bans on Shuffle and Stake across some of the world's largest online gambling markets: Australia, the US, and the UK.
How to Bypass Geo-Blocking
Visitors are informed when trying to access the site from a blocked region that "due to licensing restrictions, we cannot accept players from Australia." However, many of them are able to bypass Shuffle's geo-blocker using VPNs and other software.
The Global Nature of Online Casinos
The global nature of these operations makes it difficult for regulators to deal with them. A casino could be operated out of Australia, serve Japanese customers, and hold a Curaçao gaming license – not to mention the streamers promoting them from other parts of the globe.
Calls for Stronger Regulations
A 2023 report titled "You Win Some, You Lose More" recommended blocking transactions to illegal gambling operators and stronger sanctions for companies and known individuals who profit from illegal gambling. However, little appears to have changed two years on.
Australians own and operate three of the world's largest crypto casinos – two of which have made their owners into billionaires, with Shuffle doing its best to make it three.