Grand Theft Auto Online players in Australia are no longer able to gamble in the game’s Diamond Casino, after Rockstar Games appears to have blocked access in the wake of the Australian government’s crackdown on online gambling.
Australian players began to report the change on Reddit (via Vice), as they were no longer able to participate in the various casino games like three card poker, blackjack, roulette, and slots, that were added to GTA Online way back in 2019 as part of the Diamond Casino heist update. This is despite the casino games using fake in-game casino chips and not real money.
While players can technically buy the casino chips with real money via microtransactions, there is no way to convert said chips into real-world cash. Players can’t even spin the Lucky Wheel, a feature that doesn’t use chips and simply gives players free rewards like cars, clothes, and other items.
A prominent GTA-focused leaker, Tex2, later confirmed the change, revealing the game’s code had been updated to restrict gambling in the country.
Australia is far from the first country to see these kinds of restrictions implemented. When the Diamond Casino was added in 2019, there was already a long list of countries where its gambling features were restricted, including Argentina, Poland, Greece, Israel, and more. The frustration here is that Australian players have now suddenly lost access to a feature they’ve enjoyed for over six years.
“Well my fellow Australians it’s with a heavy heart we bid farewell to the fun times gambling at the casino as our government has banned the option earlier today,” Reddit user Agitated_Boot7803 lamented on Reddit.
Another user on the unofficial fansite GTA Forums called the ban “idiotic” and pointed out the hypocrisy of the Australian government still allowing games with loot boxes and pay-to-win systems while simultaneously banning fake-money gambling.
“Can’t spin a wheel in a video game but gambling ads are fine,” GTA Forums user Gauntlet Hellfire said.
It’s a change that also doesn’t bode well for any in-game gambling as part of GTA 6. Should GTA 6’s inevitable online multiplayer mode include a casino, it’s likely the games contained within will be banned in Australia and many other countries as well.
