Betfair Not Out Of The Woods Yet
Published: Thursday, November 10, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
BETFAIR NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET
The license has been promised, but now the politicking gets into gear
The Australian press has been having a field day with the objections of various
politicians and horse racing officials to last week's announcement that the Tasmanian
authorities would award an operating license to the Betfair-PBL betting
exchange joint venture.
Centre-stage has been Betfair Australia's offer of hospitality to Tasmanian politicians
which seems to have turned into a rather dangerous boomerang, with several upper
house MPs saying it may damage the consortium's standing ahead of a crucial vote.
Premier Paul Lennon was in the firing line, too after confirming that he
enjoyed 'a couple of glasses of wine' in the PBL's Crown casino marquee at the
Melbourne Cup last week. He apparently stayed at the casino, too although he claims
that was for his account.
Two days after the race, Lennon announced his government would introduce legislation
clearing the way for a gaming licence to be issued to Betfair Australia to operate
an online betting exchange.
Press reports also allege that the consortium offered some upper house independent
MPs - whose votes will decide the fate of the legislation - hospitality at PBL's
ACP marquee on Derby and Cup days, an offer that was not taken up and was felt
by some to negatively influence political perceptions of Betfair.
Betfair needs the votes of at least three of the 10 independent MLCs.
Most press reports quote Betfair Australia spokesman Andrew Twaits saying there
was nothing improper in the hospitality offers: "We were keen to talk to
interested groups. It was a terrific opportunity to do that in a relaxed, or less
formal, environment,” he said.
