Australian regulator commits to in-play ban
Northern Territory Racing Commission instructs operators to cease offering âclick-to-call' products within 28 days
Australia’s Northern Territory Racing Commission has ended hopes it may reverse its decision to ban in-play betting online after instructing operators to stop offering âclick-to-call’ products within 28 days.
On Wednesday, the regulator’s chairman John McBride sent a letter, seen by eGaming Review, to inform all online operators licensed in the state of its final decision.
This week’s announcement comes despite a recent backlash to the ban, which last month prompted the regulator to inform operators it would halt prohibition while it sought the opinions of industry stakeholders.
However, the Racing Commission opted to stick to its original decision and follow federal government policy.
“The Minister acknowledged the various concerns raised by members of the industry however noted that pursuant to the Racing and Betting Act (the Act) the Commission must comply with a ministerial Direction,” the statement stated.
“[The Minister] directed that a condition must be imposed to prohibit sports bookmakers from offering click-to-call type functionality, where such functionality utilises recorded or synthetic voices.”
This Racing Commission’s was welcomed by the minister for human resources Alan Tudge who said the federal government would give new powers to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to enforce the law.
“The Australian Government believes that “click-to-call” is in breach of at least the intent of the Interactive Gambling Act,” Tudge said.
“It will introduce legislation as a priority in the Spring sittings to clarify the Act and to empower the ACMA to implement civil penalties for breaches of the Act.”
Under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, Australian betting operators are prohibited from accepting online bets on live sports events and can only accept in-play wagers placed in person or over the phone.
The law states operators can only accept in-play wagers placed over the phone which led to a number of firms launching âclick-to-call’ products, enabling customers to place bets online so long as the device’s microphone is switched on.