Residents of Australia have encountered an unusual restriction. They can no longer participate in gambling mini-games from GTA Online: blackjack, poker, roulette, and other activities offered at the in-game Diamond casino.
GTA Online
The casino block in GTA Online was initially reported by Reddit users. According to them, now when attempting to launch mini-games in Australia, a notification appears stating, "this feature is unavailable to you." The block was later confirmed by GTA specialist insider, Tex2, who noticed that the GTA Online code was recently updated.
What exactly prompted the block is unknown. In Australia, many forms of gambling, including online gambling, are prohibited, and the ones permitted require a license to operate in the country. However, the casino in GTA Online is hardly real gambling; the prizes are in-game items, not real money.
In any case, Australia is not the only country where the casino in GTA Online is blocked. Back in 2019, when Diamond first appeared in the game, it was banned in more than 50 regions, including China, Poland, Cyprus, and Iceland.
Rockstar Games has not commented on the situation, and the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association of Australia (IGEA) has declined to respond to media inquiries.