Rockstar appear to have suddenly added the country to a list of nations with gambling geo-restrictions

Image credit: Rockstar Games

GTA Online players in Australia have reportedly found themselves suddenly barred from the litany of in-game gambling minigames found in Los Santos' Diamond Casino, with the change seemingly the result of developers Rockstar adding the country to their list of places where access to such minigames is restricted.

Aussies' access to poker, blackjack, roulette, slots, the Inside Track horse racing minigame, and the Lucky Wheel players can spin for a prize once every 24 hours of real time has been restricted, according to a some code unearthed on the GTA Forums and shared by Rockstar dataminer Tex2. Any Australian players approaching these games are being served a notification which reads "this feature is not available for you".

Said code also mentions a "GTAO_CASINO_HOUSE" as being restricted alongside the minigames, which at first I thought might hint at Australian players losing the ability to buy or access the Diamond Casino penthouse you can shell out for as a GTA Online home. However, based on Australian players' posts, it appears this only refers to the gambling minigames found within the penthouse itself having been locked off in addition to those on the main casino floor.

I've asked Rockstar for comment.

This sudden gambling block comes after the Australian government introduced new online safety codes in March, aiming to prevent children from being exposed to age-inappropriate content via the likes of websites and video games by mandating age verification. The country also brought in "new classifications for gambling-like content in video games" back in 2024, specifically mandating that "simulated gaming, such as casino-style games, are legally restricted to adults and classified as R 18+".

Whether Rockstar's apparent decision to restrict access to these minigames for Australians right now is a delayed consequence of any of that or an attempt to get out ahead of further regulation that might be coming down the pipe isn't clear at the moment. It does beg the question whether any new online element that comes with GTA 6 might shy away from including anything similar to the Diamond Casino, as various countries around the world move to tighten their laws regarding what people can access online without verifying their age or jumping through similar hoops. It's worth noting the Diamond Casino wasn't a part of GTA Online at release, instead arriving as part of a heist-centred expansion in 2019.