Betfair, the online Gaming Company May Be Licensed For Operations in New South Wales

According to Sunday’s extensive reports in the Australian press, Betfair, the online betting exchange, may soon receive its operating license allowing it to provided Internet gambling to online gamblers within the state of New South Wales.

At the present time it seems that the government of New South Wales is apparently negotiating with the Australian operations of this online gambling company, half of which is owned by James Packer's PBL company. In fact, it is reported that Packer’s company has already received a license for operating in Tasmania.

Australia’s Gaming and Racing Minister, Graham West, is reported as saying that about a fourth of those who use the Betfair website live in New South Wales and without licensing this activity the state might be missing out on revenues.

West is also reported as saying that the company Betfair represents an Internet product, which since it is already licensed for operations is Australia, allows easily for gamblers to go online and use it. West says that it is not simply a mater of forming a new method, but that it is rather a question of how the government may attain the greatest revenues from the activity already going on for the benefit of New South Wales and in particular the racing industry.

West’s spokesman confirmed later that the NSW state government was looking at ways that the requirement could be placed on corporate bookmakers along with betting exchanges such as Betfair, to contribute to the NSW racing industry along with the government, in order to help in the funding of critical services such as the police along with hospitals and schools.

The political Opposition party in New South Wales has made it clear that it is concerned with the granting of a license to Betfair by the State. George Souris, who is the present racing spokesman, claims that the idea of a betting exchange is already banned in as many as 47 of the world’s 50 leading thoroughbred racing countries. He has expressed concern that a betting exchange system will allow gamblers to bet on losing horses.

Andrew Twaits, representing  Betfair, has spoken to defined the honesty of the gaming site by saying that they maintain the most open operating system as compared with any waging operator worldwide.

It has been also reported by ABC Online that Morris Lemma, who is the premier of New South Wales, has intervened in this affair by bringing Gaming and Racing Minister, Graham West, into discussions with the licensing agency. West made it known at a budget estimates hearing that Premier Lemma had instructed him to deal with this issue.

As regards this ABC report, the office of the Premier for New South Wales has refused to comment this weekend regarding the speculations that Betfair half owner James Packer of PBL and PBL itself or associates of PBL, are in their process of lobbying the premier or his chief of staff in order to receive a license for their company to operate in New South Wales.

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