Sport is made for betting

Is it really 1973 in Sydney, or just in the ivory towers that Peter V'Landys lives in? The guy is that out-of-touch with his thinking that he surely still believes the world is flat. Yesterday the Australian Federal Government Productivity Commission released a report into the gambling industry in Australia. It delved deeply into problem gambling, advertising laws, online operations at home and abroad, hypocrisy of racing authorities and TABs, and all the other related issues. From what I've read, and there are 630 pages of it, it appears to be quite a balanced report. It outlines how the world has changed, how competition improves businesses and for the end consumer. It outlines how the ban on online casinos for Australians was a waste of time. And many other stories. If you fancy a few days of bedtime reading, you can download it here . Naturally, the muppet in charge at Racing NSW has come out and slaughtered it because the researchers actually believe in life after black an...

Despite egamingreview claiming Betfair were over the line six weeks ago , the French government have drafted their new online betting legislation this week, with a specific prohibition for betting exchanges. French government's new gambling law bans Betfair and all exchanges The French government has effectively outlawed the online betting exchange Betfair after passing an amendment to new gambling laws. These are being closely watched by sports bodies in the UK which are lobbying the government to bring in similar regulations. Under a surprise last-minute amendment, betting exchanges such as Betfair that allow punters to lay as well as place bets were excluded from the legislation in a move that the company described as "discriminatory". ... Passing the amendment, the French parliament also referred to a 2007 report from the British Gambling Commission that said 9.8% of punters using betting exchanges developed gambling addictions, compared to a rate of between one and t...

The province of Nova Scotia is obviously broke so they're considering licensing online betting. The journo that wrote this though has no idea about online gambling though - apparently Americans are going to drive across the border to place an online bet! I'd better set up an internet cafe right on the border to cash in! Canada may get online gambling Canada had better implement a better system of regulation and enforcement regarding problem gambling though, this is a farce . Little sympathy for adults not taking responsibility for their own actions, these people have families who are well aware of their problems so why sit back and watch? But I have just as little for companies who pay lip service to the problem with a self-exclusion policy which is utterly useless. Problem gambling and the irresponsible actions of companies supposedly trying to stop it tarnishes the entire industry. Governments can't sit back and reap the tax revenue without creating the regulatory infrast...

Betfair's sponsorship portfolio in Australia now covers Betfair Park racing, Hawthorn FC, numerous sport and racing sponsorships in Tasmania and now the Wests Tigers. A big step up from the doom-sayers saying every cent would go back to the UK when lobbying for a licence just a few yrs ago. Read the LeagueHQ article here An interesting progression considering that the NRL has been the sporting body most concerned (or should I say hypocritical?) regarding gambling sponsorship. A decade ago when the government-owned SportsTAB opened, the NRL couldn't give them enough perimeter signage. A change of CEO and public sentiment re gambling, particularly in NSW where the league clubs' finances are heavily based on the pokies clubs and the gambling problems they create, and those relationships changed. Over the years the NRL has had a few minor gambling scandals, nothing of the magnitude of match-fixing, but more exotic markets such as First Tryscorer and TV markets such as Man of th...

Interesting test for Australian firms and their social responsibility policies. News.com link Should government agencies be allowed to offer credit, and then continue to offer it when a customer shows obvious signs of addiction? This case has already been blocked by the public prosecutor, very interesting to see it taken again. The guy obviously has problems but firms do have a responsibility to ensure customers are able to pay with their own legitimate source of money too.

Well maybe not, this is a massive blow to their businesses. Herald Sun article - the pokies duopoly is to be broken up But the Australian Stock Exchange has halted trading on these firms in the meantime. Tabcorp, Tatts in trading halt This has the potential to be a fantastic decision for the people of Victoria. Take the evil machines out of the greedy corporations running the show, and into the hands of smaller venues and the local communities. Then they can make the individual decision of whether they bring benefit or ruin to their patrons. Still would prefer to see them banished forever, but that's not a realistic proposition. Hopefully a few hotels will see the light like this modern-day hero .

This case has been brewing a while, and it surprises me that TAB Ltd (now part of TABCorp) hasn't been taken to task on it. A NSW lawyer lost millions of other people's money and was given credit by a government agency. Yes, he is responsible for his own actions but the government shouldn't have been a party to encouraging him. Their addiction to gambling taxes is bigger than any individual punter. Click here for the article.

In the recent £2m problem gambler claim, the judge has remarkably found bookmaker William Hill at fault, but effectively said the punter would have lost all his money anyway, so it wasn't their fault.... Surely this one has further to go via appeals courts. Read here for more.

And people thought betting on motor racing was dull - I'd much sooner bet on that than the price of wheat! £71m down the drain by a rogue trader The only difference between this and a problem gambler is that he was using someone else's money. The financial markets are just another form of gambling - they just have a much higher reputation because blokes in suits choose that form rather than Walthamstow dogs....

A damning article in the Melbourne newspaper The Age, reporting on the damage caused by poker machines (also known as slots in the US and fruit machines in the UK). These machines are totally pointless and do not have "any real civilised justification for (poker machines) other than a means of indirectly taxing the people who are too stupid to work out what they are doing". Come on governments of Australia - you look down on some societies for their 'problems', well this is yours and it is endemic. You're all too gutless to ban them, so start restricting their numbers and the places they can be operated. Putting them in regions of high unemployment and welfare reliance is simply stealing from the poor. Almost anything is good in moderation - putting them in every pub in every suburb is like giving every citizen free syringes and a bottomless heroin supply. These machines cause far more devastation to society than people smoking.

Big story this week in the UK press is of a leading greyhound trainer suing bookmaker William Hill for £2m, after the punter had self-excluded himself. Daily Mail article Gambling unfortunately attracts people with addictive personalities and people who simply can't stop betting, despite what their bank balance tells them. Stories from casinos in particular where gamblers simply bet their lives away hurt the entire industry which works hard to keep itself above the seedy reputation earned by a tiny minority of establishments. Companies in the better-regulated jurisdictions all have responsible gambling policies, where problem gamblers can stop themselves from betting with a company via self-exclusion measures. The punter here alleges he started gambling again just weeks after he sought self-exclusion with Hills, and they agreed to it. Then he proceeded to lose £2m fairly quickly. It's easy to blame the punter for his lack of self-discipline, but if William Hill have committed t...