Tasmanian Online Betting Approved

Australian punters will be able to legally bet against each other online within weeks, after Tasmanias upper house yesterday approved a licensing regime for betting exchanges.

"Independents in the states Legislative Council passed the Lennon Labor Governments 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.

"…Briefings by Betfair Australia - a 50-50 joint venture of Betfair UK and Kerry Packers 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

2005-11-28