The Act aims to limit the harmful effects of gambling on the Australian community. It targets the providers of interactive gambling, not their potential or actual customers. Internet service providers (ISPs) follow The Interactive Gambling Industry Code in dealing with online gambling hosted outside Australia.

Online gambling in Australia is regulated by the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (the IGA). The IGA makes it an offence to provide certain gambling services to a customer physically present in Australia via the Internet. Exceptions exist for licensed services that provide online wagering, sports betting and lotteries.