Betfair facing bar from Aussie boom
ONLINE gambling exchange Betfair could be shut out of Australia's booming A$10bn (£4.15bn) market in a proposed crackdown on cross-border gambling.
The Australian racing industry wants to ban overseas betting exchanges and impose product fees on corporate bookmakers in an effort to recapture at least A$2bn in revenue that is flowing offshore.
State gaming and racing ministers discussed the issue in Sydney today, just days before the Melbourne Cup, which Betfair hopes will net it up to £5m. They plan to lobby the Federal Government to block online betting exchanges.
London-based Betfair this week wrote to the state racing ministers to defend its position.
Chief executive Stephen Hill says betting exchanges will help grow the Australian market.
He cites an increase in pool sizes for Totaliser Agency Boards since Betfair began taking bets on Australian races in February. It claims to be turning over A$120m in bets each week.
The TABs says the betting exchanges and corporate bookmakers are 'financial parasites' as they pay no Australian tax and make no contribution to the racing industry. Betfair says it would be willing to make a contribution if it were granted a licence.
