Betfair negotiations for Tasmanian approval reach the hard cash stage

27.07.2005

The Australian newspaper The Age reported this week that UK betting exchange company Betfair is prepared to give up 35 percent of its gross racing profits if Tasmanian authorities will give it a license to operate.

Premier Paul Lennon said that the local racing industry would get 25 percent, the State Government would gain 6 percent, and the rest would go to a levy for community services such as gambling addiction.

Betfair, in a partnership with Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd, is fighting strong opposition from the Australian Racing Board and existing national betting agencies. The company already accepts internet bets from Australian punters, but without a local licence it cannot advertise or open an office here, as online betting exchanges are outlawed in some states.

Lennon said a deal with Betfair did not represent a financial windfall for the Government, but instead was intended as a way of getting consistent revenue streams to the Tasmanian racing industry.

He said the industry also wanted reassurance on the integrity of a form of computerised bookmaking where anonymously matched punters can bet for a win or a loss in exchange for Betfair's commission.

"I believe probity and integrity issues won't be of concern to this form of bookmaking," Mr Lennon said.