Betfair is hopeful it will see a positive conclusion to its efforts to gain a licence to operate in Australia before the end of the year or by early 2006.
Betfair has applied for bookmaker’s licence in Tasmania, which will enable it to operate and advertise on Australian mainland. Betfair said it was hopeful that should the Tasmanian Prime Minister give the go ahead, they should see legislation passed in the next parliamentary session starting November 10.
Andrew Twaits, head of operations for Betfair in Australia, said: “We are confident we’ll have a good outcome. We offer a lot of benefits to the local economy and the local Tasmanian racing industry.”
Twaits added that opposition to the move was due to certain interests hoping to maintain monopoly positions and that arguments about people being able to back horses to lose didn’t hold water because “every serious punter knows that it’s possible to do that on the Tote.”
“The difference is on Betfair we have a completely verifiable audit trail on all our bets whereas with the existing ones, 90% of transactions occur in cash. So we actually offer a lot of solutions to the integrity issues that have gone on in the industry for many years.”
Betfair has recently agreed a deal with the Australian Football League (AFL) regarding paying the AFL a gross percentage of betting revenues for using its name and has agreed to supply information and audit trails should the AFL wish to review any betting patterns.
Twaits said: “We hope the other bookies will follow suit. It is a non-exclusive deal and we hope they would do the same and agree to provide access to their wagering records should any integrity issues arise.”
Just over a year ago Betfair signed a deal with Kerry Packer’s Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) which will give PBL a 50% stake in the company’s Australian operation should Betfair gain a licence.
Twaits said PBL was a “very important ally for us. They are highly credible and we look forward to operating the business with them.”
source : egr magazine
