The Melbourne bookmaker said to be furious that he and other bookmakers in Victoria are still not allowed to operate on sports betting despite being told they would be licensed to do so from January 1. He also said all he wanted was a “fair go.”
“I\’ve received the application forms for a Northern Territory licence and am in the process of filling them in and having my legal advisers go through them,” he told to an Australian newspaper.
“Following that, I\’m told the application will take around two months to process due to probity checks and the like. All going well, I\’ll then take another two months to get my stuff together and find an office to work from and fit it out. I could be in the Northern Territory within six months,.”
Eskander added Racing Victoria “looks after Tabcorp too much and that doesn\’t look like changing”.
“The TAB has a monopoly and Racing Victoria encourage them to continue that way,” he said. “At least if I move to the Northern Territory I can bet on any sport I want to, like all the bookies there are doing now. I can offer tote odds as well and, even though this is not the reason I wanted to move, I will pay less tax.”
UPDATE: Controversial Victorian bookmaker Michael Eskander said he is planning to follow his son Alan Eskander to the Northern Territory.
Eskander said a list of glaring discrepancies favour Tabcorp and corporate bookmakers creating an uneven playing field for Victorian bookmakers.
He also said that after a 12-year campaign he has no alternative but to move his base.
“I\’ll just take my business elsewhere,” he said.
In separate news, Tennis Australia, as part of a coalition of major professional sports, which also includes cricket, rugby and soccer, met with Victorian racing and gaming minister John Pandazopoulos to discuss sports betting.
The coalition is studying the New Zealand model, in which 5 per cent of betting revenue is returned directly to the sport it is wagered on.
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