Apple Australia pulls poker apps

According to reports on Twitter over the weekend, PokerStars’ remote iOS app was pulled from the Apple Australia Store on the instruction of Government authorities.

And its not just PokerStars affected, reportedly 888Poker’s mobile app suffered the same fate.

A reply from PokerStars@Pokerstars to a Twitter customer query over the weekend said:

“We are aware that there are currently issues updating our mobile app in the Australian iTunes marketplace. You should be able to continue to play with your current version if it had one of the latest updates, however older versions of the PokerStars App may require an update. At this time it is not possible to complete the update process. We kindly suggest playing on desktop or laptop device.  We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding on this matter”.

Another post said: “The iOS version of the #PokerStarsApp has been removed by your local authorities. This will not affect the main client. Your local authorities are the best point of call for information. As far as we know it’s a ‘clamp down’ on mobile gaming.”

The vocal Greens Party Senator Richard Di Natale, who is a member of the gambling reform committee, told the WA Today newspaper at the beginning of April that he wanted the federal government to clamp down on overseas gambling operators.

“We don’t allow online poker in Australia for Australian people under the Interactive Gambling Act … they [Apple] have got an obligation to take down apps that are against Australian law and they should do it,” the senator was quoted as saying (see previous InfoPowa reports).