Gambling made not so easy
The feds have finally banned betting on sports using the Internet, some international bookies however just can’t go without stirring the government pot. William Hill, Sportsbet, and Unibet have decided they don’t have to play by Australia’s new rules. They have continued to place ads online for wagers on sports and apparently show no signs of slowing with their now illegal operation. It seems as if they have put a wager on the federal government, of which their sure to lose. The Abbott government has requested a report of the Australian gambling industry from former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell. Whatever Barry found must have struck a chord because they have since halted all betting on sports.
In order for the government to make sure they work out all the kinks of this matter, they’ve deemed this ban temporary, lasting until the next federal election conclusion in July. Considering that no legislator has taken time to codify this ban, it has done little to cease or even prevent foreigners and offshore bookies from continuing their nefarious deeds. In other words, they don’t have many loopholes to jump through in order to exploit the game, and government. The main problem is the fact that the only form of betting that’s illegal is Internet betting. You can still call up a bookie or go to his shop to make wagers. The only way to weaken the wager amounts is to strengthen the regulations against them.
The government is hoping that making stricter policies against all betting, no matter the form, will lessen the amount of illicit gambling activities taking place in Australia. William Hill and others are at it again however, finding more and more ways to slide around these policies. William recently put in place a click and call option, giving him the option to follow the law and break it all at the same time. These evasive techniques are nothing more than a direct insult to federal mandated law. A letter has since been sent to all of the larger gambling operations by Social Services Minister Alan Tudge explaining that all forms of betting are directly violating the existing laws.
Given the fact that the revenue stream annually for this sort of activity is in the billions, most foreigners are pro-gambling and show no signs of slowing. Their position is that gambling should be fully legalized. They all seem to stand together in the opinion of Australia’s operators, calling them lazy, monopoly driven controllers. Sportsbet chief executive Cormac Barry believes the regulations will only make it easier for offshore operators to fly under the radar. It is certainly a lot of things to consider for both the operators, and legislators of Australia.