The Federal Court of Australia has imposed fines totaling $16.8 million on three individuals involved in an illegal poker operation branded as PPPfish, which later rebranded to Shuffle Gaming and then Redraw Poker. This decision was reported by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Reece Jones, the organizer of the poker services, received a hefty fine of $6.2 million. The company providing these services, Brisbane Poker, was fined $10.4 million for violating the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. Additionally, promoter Brenton Buttigieg, who advertised the operator's poker rooms and directed players to them, was fined $167,000. Buttigieg admitted to facilitating the violations.
The court also imposed a personal five-year ban on Jones from engaging in similar activities, while Buttigieg was banned from facilitating such operations. Furthermore, both Jones and Brisbane Poker were ordered to cover the regulator's legal costs.
According to the case materials, players accessed the operator's poker clubs through a mobile app and played against each other using virtual chips, which they purchased on separate websites via bank transfers or Bitcoin, with the option for reverse withdrawals. Following its own investigation, ACMA initiated proceedings in April 2022. In March 2023, the court fined Diverse Link $3.5 million in connection with the same case, and in November 2025, it was determined that Jones and Brisbane Poker had violated the law. The total amount of sanctions against the four individuals involved reached $20.3 million.