Rockstar Games has quietly removed access to the casino gambling features in GTA Online for players in Australia. This change has sparked speculation that the company is responding to the nation's stricter video game classification regulations.
In advance of the much-anticipated launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, Rockstar implemented this restriction for Australian players without any prior announcement or explanation. The update was incorporated into the patch notes released this week.
Players attempting to access the Diamond Casino & Resort are now greeted with a message stating, “this feature is not available for you,” preventing them from enjoying games like roulette or blackjack, as well as spinning the free Lucky Wheel for a chance to win a sports car.
The restriction was first highlighted by users on GTAForums and Reddit, with data miner Tez2 confirming the changes on July 28. Tez2 identified a new geographic flag in the game’s coding that effectively locks out Australian players from engaging in gambling activities.
Australia now joins over 50 other regions, including Poland, Argentina, and Greece, that have similar restrictions in place. While Australian players can still enter the Diamond Casino, exchange chips, and collect 1,000 free chips daily, they are no longer permitted to place bets.
Some players have expressed confusion regarding the rationale behind this restriction, arguing that the casino does not violate Australian gambling laws. They point out that chips are purchased using in-game currency, which can be earned through gameplay or bought with real money via Shark Cash Cards.
However, any winnings cannot be converted into real cash, leading to discussions about whether the casino qualifies as “simulated gambling” under Australia’s revised classification rules. This is particularly relevant given that GTA V has been rated 18+ since its release in 2013, aligning it with the country’s legal gambling age.
The decision to disable the casino features comes in the wake of Australia tightening its video game classification standards in recent years. In September 2023, the Standing Council of Attorneys-General agreed to enforce mandatory minimum classifications for games that contain gambling-like elements.
These new regulations, which came into effect in September 2024, automatically classify games featuring “simulated gambling” as R18+ and assign a minimum M rating to those with loot boxes or chance-based purchases. The changes apply when a game is newly classified or undergoes significant updates.
Some users on GTAForums noted that GTA Online for Xbox received an updated classification in Australia through the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) system on July 22. The updated consumer advice no longer mentions “high impact gambling,” which players argue is typically associated with simulated gambling content. This alteration has led to further speculation that Rockstar removed the casino features to comply with the new classification framework.
Although Rockstar has not issued an official statement regarding this change, it allows the game to avoid stricter gambling-related consumer advisories. This classification update also comes amidst growing scrutiny of gambling-like mechanics in video games globally, with loot boxes and similar systems facing consumer protection investigations and regulatory challenges.