The controversial deal was announced by Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon, who said to be completely satisfied with the safeguards that can be put in place to protect the probity and integrity of racing and the other events.
The introduction of Betfair will be accompanied by restrictions on who can use the betting exchange.
Direct participants on an event and people with a direct interest in the outcome will be prohibited from participating in betting on that event.
The deal ends eight months of speculation, but now the legislation, which will be introduced to Parliament next week, to be approved needs the support of three of the state\’s 10 MLCs.
Provided the new legislation passes, Betfair Australia will be a 50-50 joint venture between Betfair and Kerry Pacher\’s PBL.
The company will set up a permanent office in Hobart creating more than 150 jobs over the next two years in IT engineering, administration and call center roles.
“Our proposal to establish Betfair Australia offers tremendous opportunities for Tasmania, will introduce much needed competition into the wagering market and will provide significant support for sport and racing across the nation.” said Edward Wray, co-founder of Betfair.
“It is important that the racing industry prospers. Betfair’s introduction into the Australian market will help improve racing’s prosperity by attracting new punters to the sport and providing more benefits for existing punters.”
“Racing and sports regulators will rightly be pleased that the draft legislation will require betting exchange operators to make all betting records, including customer details, available to them in the event of an inquiry. Betfair has always wanted to provide that information lawfully and strongly supports the Government’s proposed approach.”
“The social welfare and player protection initiatives that are contained in the draft legislation are strongly supported by Betfair. We have a track record in the UK of leading the industry in terms of our approach to social welfare issues and we intend to build on that reputation, and continue that work, here in Australia.”
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