Betfair CEO: Offshore Poker Should Be Regulated
Published June 14, 2011
Federal gov't is working on legislation to curb match-fixing in sports matches.
One of Australia's biggest online betting operators has called on legislators currently working on new exotic gambling reform to also introduce regulation of offshore online poker sites.
'Online poker operators are not regulated'
Betfair CEO Andrew Twaits said that online poker sites, which he says cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars each year should be included in new legislation that is being introduced to put an end to match-fixing in sport.
He said that while he's pleased to see the federal and state governments tackling the issue of integrity in sports betting - which is worth over $300 million - operators of online poker sites are ducking under the radar, as many of them controlled from overseas.
Sportsbooks support gov't
The government's legislation has the support of Australia's four major online sportsbooks - Sportsbet, Betfair, Centrebet and Sportingbet, who obviously all have a vested interest in maintaining the integrity of Australia's biggest sporting codes.
Another sports betting operator, Sportingbet, has called on the coalition of major professional sports, which represents the AFL, ARU, NRL, Cricket Australia, FFA, Netball and Tennis, to employ full-time supervisors to monitor betting trends.
