After two days of debate, the MPs passed the Gaming Control Amendment (Betting Exchange) Bill 2005 with only four amendments, including the introduction of independent socio-economic impact assessments every three years and a minor change clarifying Betfair\’s payments to the Tasmanian Government.
The legislation, which will allow the licensing of Betfair, will now return to the Lower House for its final approval.
“It\’s a great day for Australian punters,” said ecstatic Betfair spokesman Andrew Twaits.
“We always believed that we had a very compelling case, a very compelling business model and that the procedures that we had in place to protect the integrity of racing and sport were beyond peer,” he said.
Upper house MP Sue Smith said Betfair was “merely the first” and more applications for betting exchange licenses would follow.
Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon said the decision was a triumph for Tasmania.
“Once again, we\’ve proven that Tasmania is in control of its own destiny and that we can make big things happen here,” he said.
In separate news, Tabcorp\’s Managing Director, Matthew Slatter, said the NSW TAB is introducing a number of new bet types in a bid to counter the impact of betting exchanges.
The new bet types include the Running double, the Duet, the Mystery Quinella, the Roving Banker and the Mystery Six.
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