Ladbrokes Australia has resumed offering its in-play live betting feature “LivePlay” after the overturning of a ruling against the service by the Australian Communication Agency.
Ladbrokes Australia now joins William Hill and Bet365 in allowing Australian gamblers to bet in-running during live sporting events, according to gamblinginsider.com
Ladbrokes has stopped offering LivePlay in July—which was called “Ladbrokes – Quickcall’”—after an announcement of a federal probe by the agency into in-play services. The agency maintained the feature violated Australian online betting laws relating to the 2001 Internet Gambling Act.
UK bookmaker William Hill contested the ruling. The Australian Federal Police then said it would not be investigated following a legal referral from the ACMA.
Ladbrokes, William Hill and Bet365 argue that the distinction between online and telephone communications is now outdated and not in line with current practice.
The case has led to calls for the government to reform internet gambling laws in order to allow for new mechanisms in-line with modern consumer habits, according to a report in SBC News.
The Australian Institute of Public Affairs has also advised regulators to drop live-betting regulations saying the laws are archaic and should not form part of any new regulatory agenda for online betting, SBC News reported.
“The ban on ‘live’ or ‘in the run’ betting is technologically illiterate and easy to avoid,” IPA researchers said in a statement. “Techniques that firms have used to arbitrage around the legislative framework demonstrate the weakness of legislative controls.
However, Robbie Cooke, the CEO of gambling group Tatts in Australia told Australian media that there is very little support among Australian gamblers for online in-play betting, and criticized international gambling groups pushing for its legalization.
