BETFAIR, the hotly opposed British online betting exchange, has moved into Australia by winning government approval in Tasmania — provoking outrage from racing bodies and other state governments.
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read moreLast edited by Bill Dozer; 11-07-05, 04:09 AM. -
lol, you know better.
Unless you are the author of that how about giving us the real link?Comment -
I heard, it's great news. All the locals over here are going crazy as Betfair operate on 5% commission whereas they operate on approx 17%. Yes that's right 17% and you guys thought you had it bad over there! Just for the sake of comparison Pinnacle operate on about 2 or 3%Comment -
Unless you are the author of that how about giving us the real link?
that link takes you to real link. By the way, it's a good article.
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that's crazy. It's like the horse racing take.whereas they operate on approx 17%Comment -
Lennon says let it be for Betfair in Tasmania
Comment, Tony Bourke
November 5, 2005
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Despite the most intense opposition from the mainland states, Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon is determined to push through his plan to license the British-based betting exchange Betfair.
When and if the legislation passes through the state's upper house, probably early next week, Betfair Australia will become a reality, although Lennon does not have the support of all the local racing bodies, namely the Tasmanian Racing Board, which is afraid the funding derived from licensing Betfair will be misdirected at the expense of grassroots racing.
There has been more misinformation about Betfair than on any other racing issue in recent memory and if you believed even half of what its critics say, the racing industry may as well put up the shutters now and move into croquet or some other non-gambling activity.
The problem is that there is so much blurring of the lines between vested interests and what some people genuinely believe are integrity issues with the concept of a betting exchange that allows a punter to back a horse or a sporting team to lose rather than win.
The agreement under which Betfair will operate in Tasmania provides for audit trails and information sharing unprecedented with any other gambling outlet in Australia.
These are the same checks and balances Betfair offered to the mainland racing authorities if it were to be granted a licence, only to be told to go away - which it will not.
Betfair has been alive and well, without a licence, in Australia for about three years.
There's no real evidence it has been used for crooked activities, although critics say if stewards had full access to its records, more "rorts" may have been uncovered.
If and when it is licensed, Betfair will be provide all relevant information to authorities, but that didn't satisfy Racing Victoria Ltd chief executive Robert Nason, who said on Thursday: "What if someone in Venezuela or Chile fixed a race in Australia. How could they be prosecuted?"
In the unlikely event of a Venezuelan fixing a race in Australia, he would be hard-pressed to do it without the help of someone here - and that's what we have stewards for anyway.
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Race fixers from Venezuela or Chile eh?
Get a grip.Comment -
Originally posted by Bill Dozer
I try to click on the link and, what do it see but this:
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