Sport is made for betting

Sportingbet started the trend by purchasing No1 Betting Shop from Vanuatu and then moving them to Darwin, Paddy Power got into the act by snapping up Sportsbet and IAS, and then Centrebet started preening their feathers in public trying to woo as many prospective buyers as they could. Anecdotal evidence suggests that several other Australian firms are available to buy, as most of the original owners are approaching retirement age. BWin, William Hill, Ladbrokes, 888 and others were mentioned as prospective suitors for Centrebet but it all seems to have gone very quiet lately. BWin have tied up with Party Gaming which should keep them busy plus neither are shy about attracting Australian customers despite laws against online casino and poker operations; William Hill's online division is 29% owned by Playtech, another company with fingers in many bingo, casino and poker pies which reach Australia either organically or by targetted marketing; Ladbrokes are still involved in the bid f...

The Productivity Commission has recommended that Tabcorp's ownership of SkyChannel, the primary racing broadcaster, be investigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. This, in conjunction with recommendations that Tabcorp's retail outlet monopoly be ceased and that NSW and Queensland racing authorities get off their high horse and negotiate product fees not based on turnover, which discriminates against competitors of the TABs, are major blows to Tabcorp. Tabcorp on notice The Productivity Commission recommended the Federal Government refer the ownership to the ACCC. The commission found that the "vertical integration of Tabcorp's wagering and broadcast business has potentially serious implications for competition in the wagering market". "As the capacity for punters to view racing is a key factor of production for wagering operators that compete with Tabcorp, this arrangement may frustrate competitive access to racing broadcasts," th...

Hyprocritical muppet. I'll leave it at that. Productivity Commission Gambling Report Represents Community View from Racing NSW CEO Peter V'Landys: "The Productivity Commission allowed presentations from a myriad of wagering operators but at no time sought to provide Racing NSW with the opportunity to make a presentation on behalf of its 50,000 participants." V'Landys fails to point out that Racing NSW did in fact make a submission, which was mostly ignored, much to his chagrin. In terms of poetic justice he might like to reflect on the very limited consultation process that Racing NSW engaged in when formulating its race fields strategy. Submissions were not considered from any wagering operator other than TabCorp and the one provided by Betfair was ignored. ... Racing NSW is furious that any party would want to dictate what it should charge for its racing, saying: "The two most ridiculous recommendations are that an independent organisation set the price of ...

Is it really 1973 in Sydney, or just in the ivory towers that Peter V'Landys lives in? The guy is that out-of-touch with his thinking that he surely still believes the world is flat. Yesterday the Australian Federal Government Productivity Commission released a report into the gambling industry in Australia. It delved deeply into problem gambling, advertising laws, online operations at home and abroad, hypocrisy of racing authorities and TABs, and all the other related issues. From what I've read, and there are 630 pages of it, it appears to be quite a balanced report. It outlines how the world has changed, how competition improves businesses and for the end consumer. It outlines how the ban on online casinos for Australians was a waste of time. And many other stories. If you fancy a few days of bedtime reading, you can download it here . Naturally, the muppet in charge at Racing NSW has come out and slaughtered it because the researchers actually believe in life after black an...