In 2016, one of the leading Australian online casinos that illegally promoted gambling activities like blackjack, roulette, and 800 other games faced the risk of its local website shut down. It happened because the registered owner of the site revealed to The New Daily that he had nothing to do with Emu Casino.
Starting from 2012, even though casino gambling was illegal in Australia, the Emu Group Ltd has introduced itself as the dominant provider of online casino games in the Australian industry.
At the time of the incident, the Emu Casino operated under three various internet domains:
- www.emucasino.net;
- www.emucasino.com;
- www.emucasino.com.au.
It also claimed to have over 10,000 subscribers on its Facebook page.
The story with the illegal ownership began on March 4, 2016, right after the operator announced that a 38-year-old Perth man, playing a virtual pokie machine, had won a $121,500 windfall.
Jeff Muller, the registered owner of the Australian domain website, stridently denied any connection with the gaming operation. During his interview with The New Daily, he said that he never knew the site existed before and that it was registered under his name.
He also notified that he sought advice to find a suitable legal way to remove his information from the domain registry.
So, Who Really Owns Emu Casino?
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If Jeff Muller is not the real owner of Emu Casino, then who is it? Currently, Emu, with its ultimate holding company, EMU Inc., operates as a global gambling provider incorporated in a notorious tax haven, Panama.
EmuGroup Limited, its operating company, is registered in Malta, another jurisdiction well known among gamblers for tax avoidance. As such, it is authorized to have an online casino under its operation under a license issued by the Curaçao Gaming Association.
What Did The Investigation Discover?
The New Daily has brought together the operator’s corporate structure by conducting searches of official registries in Panama and Malta.
While the casino’s tangled structure was not uncommon in the iGaming industry, it was likely of special interest to Australian law enforcement agencies and regulators as it promoted itself on its platforms as “Australian-owned.”
According to the registry of Panamanian companies, Emu Casino shares were held in the names of two trust firms, which effectively concealed the identities of the Australian owners.
Later, as the investigation showed, the holding company associated with Emu Casino was incorporated by Quijano & Associates, a law firm that was one of the prominent providers of Panama’s shelf company registrations.
Emu Casino Today
Despite all the illegal issues and controversies related to Emu Casino, it still operates and is accessible to players worldwide. Similar to all brand-new gambling sites in the industry, Emu offers a diverse range of gambling entertainment. Here, you can find the usual traditional casino games and an assortment of the latest live dealer games. The total number of all existing games runs over a thousand titles.
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In addition, plenty of gaming providers are in the mix, including BetSoft, Evolution Gaming, Big Time Gaming, Mr Slotty, Triple Edge Studios, Pragmatic Play, Alchemy Gaming, and Play’n Go. And though most games you can play at the site are slots, there is also a long list of other options, such as video poker or virtual sports.
Furthermore, when it comes to banking and payment options like cryptocurrencies, Emu Casino gives you plenty of choices suitable for Australian regions. Whether you prefer credit/debit cards, cryptocurrencies, e-wallets, bank transfers, or e-vouchers, it is available for you to access at this gambling venue.
The minimum and maximum limits for replenishing your account are pretty good, but for those big-scale gamblers, the maximum payout amount may be an issue. Also, the operator allows you to make one withdrawal every 30 days for free. However, if you want to make another cashout, you may be charged a fee of up to 3.9%.
