Australia’s National Anti-Scam Centre launched a fusion-cell taskforce to disrupt fake online casinos that target First Nations Australians. The scams are known locally as “scambling” and imitate the look and feel of gambling websites and apps.
According to Next.io, the cell brought together law enforcement, government agencies, regulators, digital platforms, banks, telecommunications providers and community services. Its work was designed to build a clearer picture of how the scams operate, what is enabling them and how they can be disrupted, and it was due to run until 9 December 2025.
The fake sites typically accept deposits, interfere with play, block withdrawals or demand more money before releasing supposed winnings. They also use the promise of free spins and bonuses to draw users in, then keep them hooked with messages and other prompts.
The scams sit inside a broader Australian gambling framework in which licensed online operators may offer sports betting, race betting and lotteries, while online casino games and in-play betting remain illegal. ACMA said in June that 1,751 illegal gambling and affiliate websites had been blocked since November 2019, and more than 230 services had left the market since enforcement tightened in 2017.
Scamwatch received 806 reports of “scambling” in 2025, up from 677 in 2024. Reported losses rose from about A$449,000 to A$1.6 million, and more than 45% of those losses came from consumers who self-identified as First Nations.
Regulators believe the true share of First Nations victims is likely higher, because some people may think they have simply lost money in legitimate gambling. That undercount matters in a problem that appears to be spreading through communities where trust, language and access barriers can make people more exposed.
The ABC reported one case in remote Northern Territory in which a woman identified as Gloria said a bright pokie-style site lured her with free spins and bonuses. She said she paid A$50 to A$150 into different PayID accounts, thought she had won A$9,200, and then saw the site leave her with only A$20 to play.
Financial counsellors told the ABC the impact on First Nations communities was catastrophic, with people signing up to illegal pokies and casino sites in the hope of big wins and being scammed instead. They also said the sites were highly addictive and kept players engaged with spam messages.
AUSTRAC warned that paying by PayID made a site “almost certainly a scam,” and its acting chief described scambling as a “sophisticated and pervasive financial crime threat.” The agency also said criminal syndicates or organised crime groups were suspected behind illegal online gaming sites, and that some players in remote and Indigenous communities had inadvertently become money mules.
The wider anti-scam picture remained severe. The National Anti-Scam Centre’s 2025 Targeting scams report, the third since its establishment on 1 July 2023, said Australians reported $2.18 billion in scam losses across Scamwatch, ReportCyber, IDCARE, AFCX and ASIC last year, up 7.8%, on 481,523 reports.
The same report said fusion cells show the value of combining data and expertise across the ecosystem, and that scammers constantly adapt tactics. Regulators say that is one reason the true scale of harm, especially among First Nations victims of “scambling”, may still be larger than the numbers show.
