Australians are renowned for being an adventurous lot. When they are not busy mocking the lily-livered Poms from the old country about their poor cricket skills, they are to be found exploring the interminable interior of their own continent, or travelling the world exporting their positive attitude and sunny disposition.
Let’s face it, there isn’t a sport or game the Aussies aren’t good at. OK, winter sports may not be a strong point, but us Brits are not too blessed with talent here either. Eddie the Eagle may be a sporting icon over here, but it was his self-depreciating, have-a-go haplessness, not mastery of his sport which we appreciated.
So it also goes without that saying that the Aussies love their online gaming too. This means that just about any self-respecting internationally available online casino will accept this world renowned currency. In fact, many measures place the Australian dollar in the top five traded currencies in the world, with around 7% of the market at the most recent count. Not bad for a country in the middle of nowhere on the opposite side of the world with a poor football team and a population of barely 25 million. Just trying to get my own back, but in truth, the Aussies are even better at sledging than us too. [Note to non Aussie / UK residents: sledging in this context is nothing to do with winter sports].
Anyway, the relatively short history of this currency begins in 1966, when the new decimal currency replaced the existing colonial relic the British pound. The new currency was not originally known as the dollar. After considering many suitably Aussie terms such as the “oz”, the “roo”, the kanga”, the “digger” and the “dinkum”, the Bank of Australia decided on the “royal”.
Now given that this proudly independent country was keen to shake off its unwanted colonial history, it is difficult to think of a more unsuitable name. The old colonial monarchy was unpopular in any case among many Aussies, and surely the whole point of getting rid of the pound in the first place was part of this purging of historical ties? Needless to say the idea was rapidly dropped, and the new Australian dollar was born.
The Australian dollar is a decimal currency, divided into 100 cents. At the time of writing, the currency is valued at around 1.75 AUD to the pound, and about 1.3 AUD to the US dollar.
Today, it is unusual to find a major online casino which does not accept the Australian dollar, so Aussies based across the globe should be able to enjoy their favourite games wherever they are. Of course, baiting Poms is not a recognised casino sport, but it is a recognised sport for Australians everywhere, whether in the real world or online. Aussies don’t normally need much of an excuse to do so, and mentions of The Ashes are never far away – a further rivalry that non participants may also have to look up.