RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Gambling Grand Theft Auto Online GTA 6 GTA Online
Grand Theft Auto Online players in Australia have discovered that Rockstar Games has quietly banned them from gambling in the game's casino. Many are confused as to why it took nearly seven years for this to happen and why IRL sports betting continues to be allowed and heavily promoted everywhere.
On July 28, GTA Online players in Australia started reporting that they could no longer gamble at the Diamond Casino located in Los Santos. In fact, players in the country claimed they couldn't even spin the free wheel anymore, a feature that is completely free and rewards people with cars, clothing, and other goodies. GTA Online dataminer TezFun later confirmed that this wasn't a random glitch or fluke. On Tuesday, Rockstar Games officially blocked Australian players from gambling in GTA Online.
Rockstar Games now restricts Australian players from gambling in the Casino in #GTAOnline .
Weirdly, many players in Australia report they can still trade in and cash out chips, but can't gamble. I guess they can use those chips to buy the exclusive clothing items in the casino store?
The Diamond Casino and Resort was added to GTA Online all the way back in 2019. When the casino launched, many players in different countries discovered they couldn't play blackjack, spin the slots, or gamble due to regional laws. Australia now joins this list of countries, which also includes Poland, Greece, Israel, Vietnam, and Portugal. Keep in mind that in GTA Online, players can't cash out chips for real money. And in some countries, GTA Online won't even let you convert in-game cash you bought using microtransactions to gambling chips.
For many players in Australia who have been visiting the casino in GTA Online for nearly a decade now, this sudden change has been understandably confusing and frustrating. And some aren't sure why GTA Online' s casino is banned while real sports betting in the country is allowed to thrive and grow.
"In my opinion, this is a completely idiotic ban," said one user on the GTA Forums.
"Can't spin a wheel in a video game but gambling ads are fine," posted another GTA Forums user who lives in Australia. "This is why I despise this piece of sh*t prime minister."
Some players in Australia are also concerned that if Grand Theft Auto 6 's multiplayer mode features some sort of casino, they will be locked out of that feature at launch. Which seems likely.
"Guess I'll go back to the old acceptable way of earning money on GTA ," joked one Australian player. "Deal lots of drugs, run weapons and all the other 'acceptable' ways…"
You'd better use that code in 170 days or less...
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