Grand Theft Auto Online gamers in Australia blocked from gambling in virtual casino

Grand Theft Auto Online players in Australia have been blocked from gambling at the in-game casino.

Access to Diamond Casino mini-games including blackjack, roulette, and the Inside Track horse racing mode were quietly disabled, despite having being available for seven years.

Gamers trying to activate them are now told: “This feature is not available for you.”

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow

Rockstar has been sought for comment on the decision, which 7NEWS.com.au understands was not a directive from the Australian government under any legislation.

Players exploring the fictional state of San Andreas in GTA Online can purchase casino chips using virtual currency earned by playing the game and completing missions.

Gamers can also pour real money into GTA shark cards, which provide in-game money.

But there is no avenue to turn the virtual currency back into real-world cash.

According to the terms of service, virtual items in the game have no monetary value and cannot be redeemed for real money.

Grand Theft Auto V’s Diamond Casino, where mini-games have been banned for Australian players. Credit: Rockstar Games

In Australia, video games with simulated gambling must carry an R18+ classification, something the game has done since its release in 2013.

The casino was established as a location to visit for online players quite some years into the game’s lengthy cycle, but has been popular.

“Can’t watch TV without being bombarded with ads for actual gambling sites, but banning gambling fake money in an R18+ game is where we draw the line. Logical,” one person commented sarcastically on a social media post about the casino update.

Another gamer said: “Me any my 30-year-old mates can’t go to an online casino in a video game in funny outfits and play blackjack together for virtual money that we don’t care about and have fun. Can gamble and lose thousands on my phone in five presses though.”

The casino game ban comes at a time when the federal government is clamping down on gambling regulations, with fresh reforms being introduced in January.

Popular Australian Twitch streamer Matthew Judge, who has poured more than 14,000 hours into Grand Theft Auto V’s single player and online components, believes the ban was introduced “out of caution” to comply with an online safety code “designed to limit what content under 18s can engage with online”.

“Among other things, they explicitly seek to prevent children from accessing simulated gambling,” he said.

“Perhaps Rockstar fears they can’t sufficiently verify the age of users and so have removed this content rather than potentially be in violation.

“It is possible that this removal is pre-emptive and they will implement an age verification system that is sufficient to give adults access again at a later date — time will tell.”

Australia joins a list of more than 50 countries including Portugal, Greece and South Africa where the casino mini-games have been disabled.

Australia has the highest gambling losses in the world — more than $1500 per adult every year.

Rockstar’s decision comes ahead of its highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI release in November.