• Gambling win as Betfair gets past the post

by Matthew Denholm November 25, 2005 - AUSTRALIAN punters will be able to legally bet against each other online within weeks, after Tasmania's upper house yesterday approved a licensing regime for betting exchanges. Independents in the state's Legislative Council passed the Lennon Labor Government's legislation paving the way for the British-based Betfair to get a licence to operate in Australia. The long-awaited vote came after a second day of debate in the Legislative Council, where two amendments allowed the legislation to pass unopposed. A campaign by elements of the racing industry to block the legislation backfired, with several MLCs condemning their "scaremongering and bullying". Instead, briefings by Betfair Australia - a 50-50 joint venture of Betfair UK and Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd - convinced the MLCs of the integrity of the betting exchange. Operating legally from Britain since 2000, Betfair matches punters with opposing views on sporting results and takes commissions from the winner. It will now receive a five-year licence from Tasmania, where it will spend $10 million and hire 150 staff to establish a second "global hub" handling Asian and Australasian bets. Betfair Australia will provide an estimated $35 million a year to the state's racing industry by 2009-10, and up to $10 million a year for the state treasury. MLCs rejected advice from Racing Victoria chief Robert Nason that these returns were unrealistic and would require a five-fold rise in gambling. As soon as the licence takes effect, expected to be January 1, NSW and West Australian punters, now barred from betting exchanges, will have legal access.

> Read the full story here Source: TheAustralian.news.com.au

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