New Year Start To Betfair's Aussie Operations

Published: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

NEW YEAR START TO BETFAIR'S AUSSIE OPERATIONS

Britons will fly to Australia to set up betting exchange customer support centre

The British online betting exchange Betfair will begin setting up a customer service centre in Hobart, Tasmania next week as part of its partnership with James Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd, reports The Australian newspaper. Gamblers nationwide are expected to be able to use the service legally within weeks once the approval of the Tasmanian Gaming Commission is given.

Betfair Australia expects to sign a lease on buildings in Hobart by next week, when a team of 15 to 20 staff will arrive from Britain to begin setting up the Australian operation.

Following a tough political struggle, the Tasmanian parliament approved Australia's first law allowing the licensing of online betting exchanges in November, but a Betfair licence still requires approval from the Tasmanian Gaming Commission.

The commission is expected to meet in the middle of this month to consider a licence that would allow all Australians to use Betfair, ending the TAB's virtual monopoly on horse race gambling. Until now, gamblers in NSW and Western Australia have been barred by state law from accessing Betfair for bets on Australian racing, while a legal cloud has hung over other access by Australians.

A licence in Tasmania will also allow Betfair to advertise and market its product.

Betfair corporate director Andrew Twaits said yesterday the British team would set up a call centre and other infrastructure, and recruit staff.

"We'll be recruiting for a range of positions in January, the most significant being a chief operating officer for Betfair Australia," he said. Most of the British team would be in place for about three months, to be gradually replaced by a local workforce of 75 in the first year and 150 within two years.