Thursday, August 26, 2004

Head of Betfair Australia Gets a Visit by Aussie Federal Cops

Internet gambling operator hits hurdle

The ongoing saga of Betfair's attempt to enter the Australian market continues with a bizarre story as the Australian Federal Police made a visit to the home of Betfair's Australian MD, Mark Davies. Their reason for visiting? A tip-off that Davies was running an illegal online gambling operation from his home.

When the feds realised there was nothing untoward going on, they left the slightly bemused Davies refusing to get too ruffled over the latest twist.

Quite simply, the issue in Australia is this:
Betfair want to enter the Australian market. The Australian government decided it had no reason to disallow this and as soon as they heard this, Betfair went head first into a partnership with gambling big boy and media giant, Kerry Packer.

However, the Australian betting operators are fuming and have waged war against Betfairs plans - arguing that Betfair's betting exchange model has the potential to ruin the local racing industry. And they're not afraid to show their displeasure, likening Betfair to the 'Great Train Robbery' and calling its business "the greatest con job in the world"

Quite simply, the Aussie racing industry are running scared - like the Brits did for a while. But in reality, Betfair has genuinely made the racing industry more competitive and more interesting, opening it up to a whole new generation of horse-racing punters. The Aussies are making themselves look foolish and setting themselves up for a fall as Betfair go quietly and cleverly on their way into the Australian market

Links:
betfair.com

posted by jo @ 1:22 AM   0 comments

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