While it is legal to bet on the outcome of sporting events in Australia, bettors cannot lay in-game wagers, which offer changing odds and bets during a sporting event.
Online betting platform SportsBet wants an end to the nationwide ban on in-play wagering in Australia in order to discourage illegal offshore wagering. SportsBet says there are more than 2,200 illegal offshore betting sites that Australian bettors can use for in-play wagering, and making it legal on the mainland would level the playing field and protect consumers.
In-play wagering also is allowed in many competing jurisdictions and through illegal offshore betting sites, which SportsBet says renders ineffective Australia’s ban on in-play wagering.
Instead of forcing Australians to utilize shady offshore sites, SportsBet wants the Australian government to legalize and regulate it, which it says would protect bettors and legal books alike.
Joining the call for legalizing in-play wagering are four football codes, tennis, cricket, and netball officials, as Australian officials review the nation’s 2001 Interactive Gambling Act, which banned in-play wagering.
The professional sports leagues say lifting the ban would reduce the potential influence of illegal betting operations and help to preserve the integrity of sporting events.
