Heads up, punters. It seems that Aussies who fancy throwing down a bit of virtual cash at the Diamond Casino in Grand Theft Auto Online might find themselves barred from the tables, in what’s seemingly a response to the Australian government’s ongoing crackdowns on both simulated gambling in video games and actual, online gambling.
The news comes after Australian players began reporting their inability to access the casino activities in GTA Online, including game like Blackjack, Roulette, Poker and even the Lucky Wheel (a daily extra spin of which forms part of the paid GTA+ perks).
While there’s been no confirmation of this change from Rockstar themselves, a user on Twitter by the handle of @TexFunz2 followed up with what is alleged to be lines of code from the game that have been updated to geo-restrict these specific games, as seen below:
It’s certainly an interesting one, given there isn’t actually anything from a lawful end which restricts the kind of simulated gambling that exists in GTA Online, at least as far as common interpretations would suggest. Gambling in GTA Online is done using chips, bought with virtual money either earned in-game or acquired through Shark cards, and cannot in any way be paid out as real-world currency.
We know that age ratings on games must now reflect any gambling-adjacent content, including an automatic R18+ rating for simulated casino games, but GTA Online already carries that R18+ rating. And the Australian Labor government’s more recent efforts to curb actual, online gambling services like Keno and offshore lotteries shouldn’t have any correlation. So it’s curious that Rockstar would implement something like this, now.
Theories out there currently suggest this may have something to do with averting age gating/ID verification or a recent resubmission of the game’s classification material. It could also as easily be an anomaly, mistake or massively over-corrected precaution. Until something is stated in an official capacity, we simply won’t know.
The game was recently re-rated on Xbox Series X|A via the IARC submission tool that feeds into Australia’s classification system, and the new rating does not include a mention of gambling, so it very well be related to this.
A report on the matter from Vice also claims that the same restrictions now affect Red Dead Online players in Australia, who are reportedly unable to play Poker in that game as of now.
We have reached out to Rockstar Games for a statement or clarification on this.
Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.