The Tasmanian parliament approved Australia's first law allowing the licensing of online betting exchanges last November, but a Betfair licence still requires approval from the Tasmanian Gaming Commission (TGC). The Commission is expected to meet in the middle of this month to consider a licence that would allow all Australians to use Betfair, ending the TAB's virtual monopoly on horse race gambling. Until now punters in NSW and Western Australia have been barred by state law from accessing Betfair for bets on Australian racing, while a legal cloud has hung over other access by Australians.

Betfair Australia expects to sign a lease on buildings in Hobart, Tasmania by next week as it gets set to start operations in the Australian state once it gets licensed. A team of 15 to 20 staff will arrive from Britain to begin setting up the Australian operation. As an Internet betting exchange, allowing punters to bet against each other on the outcome of sporting events, Betfair will begin setting up a global centre in Hobart next week and punters nationwide are expected to be able to use the service legally within weeks.

A licence in Tasmania will also allow Betfair to advertise and market its product. Betfair corporate director Andrew Twaits said yesterday the British team would set up a call centre and other infrastructure, and recruit staff: "We'll be recruiting for a range of positions in January, the most significant being a chief operating officer" for Betfair Australia. Most of the British team would be in place for about three months, to be gradually replaced by a local workforce of 75 in the first year and 150 within two years.

Last November, some states threatened to block Betfair Australia's efforts. The company is a consortium formed by Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd and Betfair UK, which has operated from Britain since 2000. Claiming that betting exchanges would strip revenue from TABs and encourage corruption in sport, the Victorian, West Australian, South Australian and Queensland governments have threatened to impose restrictions on Betfair, and Geoff Harper, a Tasmanian representative on the Australian Racing Board, predicted yesterday that Victoria and other states would deny Betfair access to racetracks. Some people are still thinking that a King Canute approach is the way forward. (E-01.03.06)

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