A Hobart bookmaker, Barry Heawood, which was found monitoring Betfair at the Glenorchy showgrounds, during a harness racing meeting in August, has been cleared by an inquiry of illegally using the betting exchange to place bets.
Betfair provided Racing Services Tasmania with a list of all bets on the meeting in question, but under privacy laws, it had to replace bettors\’ names with customer numbers to protect their identity.
Andrew Twaits, Betfair Director of Corporate Affairs, said its company would have provided the information if compelled by a police inquiry and in the future it will be available to reveal customers\’ names to regulators if that becomes a condition to obtain a Tasmanian license.
“We\’re very happy to be subject to those sorts of controls,” said Twaits.
Tony Murray, Director of Racing Services Tasmania, admitted that even if Heawood had been betting on Betfair, he would have escaped as there was no breach of the Racing Regulation Act or the Rules of Harness Racing.
However, all Tasmanian bookmakers will now be banned from using online betting exchanges while operating at racecourses.
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