Sports Betting - Educate & Regulate
Announcement posted by Betstar 08 Apr 2011
Sports betting is on the rise with the popularity and growth of sport worldwide and especially in Australia. What we're seeing is that professional sport is more and more accessible through TV rights, increased broadcasting agreements and the internet and what that brings is a greater interest in sports betting.
Largely speaking, there are certainly some issues within the sports betting industry that need addressing as we see in the case of obvious NRL and cricket examples. I applaud the recent efforts made by bodies such as the AFL and NRL who aim to protect their sports.
Issues need to be addresses and regulated without a doubt, however a call to prohibit exotic bet types is not the answer. The fact is that 99% of those who bet do so recreationally and within their means so we're talking about the minority who act irresponsibly and tarnish the reputation of the sports betting industry. Gambling is not dissimilar to alcohol, the majority of Australian's like to have a drink and do so responsibility, however a small minority over indulge. Like alcohol, gambling needs to be managed and promoted responsibly rather than be forced underground.
Bookies want integrity in sport.
History shows that across many controversial social issues, that prohibition is not a successful strategy and that's certainly the case when it comes to wagering on sport.
The key is for the industry to keep up to speed by educating and regulating not only the public, but sports players and officials. We need to be teaching those involved about the importance of what they may be privy to for a start, and we need to see educational programs as part of the sports industry across all sports. Consumer interest and demand for sports betting is only rising and that demand needs to be satiated. Effectively, all you do through prohibition is drive that demand underground and that's where you end up with illegal activity, unlicensed operators and corruption. I believe there is a real danger if the issue is not managed properly. If we do not keep ahead of the game with education and regulation we will create a black market where illegal bookies will thrive. An environment like this means there is no auditing, no safe guard, no paper trail and increased opportunities for corruption. We will not have access to dialogue between the punter and the bookmaker and therefore will be unable to scrutinise the information should the need arise.
Largely speaking, there are certainly some issues within the sports betting industry that need addressing as we see in the case of obvious NRL and cricket examples. I applaud the recent efforts made by bodies such as the AFL and NRL who aim to protect their sports.
Issues need to be addresses and regulated without a doubt, however a call to prohibit exotic bet types is not the answer. The fact is that 99% of those who bet do so recreationally and within their means so we're talking about the minority who act irresponsibly and tarnish the reputation of the sports betting industry. Gambling is not dissimilar to alcohol, the majority of Australian's like to have a drink and do so responsibility, however a small minority over indulge. Like alcohol, gambling needs to be managed and promoted responsibly rather than be forced underground.
Bookies want integrity in sport.
History shows that across many controversial social issues, that prohibition is not a successful strategy and that's certainly the case when it comes to wagering on sport.
The key is for the industry to keep up to speed by educating and regulating not only the public, but sports players and officials. We need to be teaching those involved about the importance of what they may be privy to for a start, and we need to see educational programs as part of the sports industry across all sports. Consumer interest and demand for sports betting is only rising and that demand needs to be satiated. Effectively, all you do through prohibition is drive that demand underground and that's where you end up with illegal activity, unlicensed operators and corruption. I believe there is a real danger if the issue is not managed properly. If we do not keep ahead of the game with education and regulation we will create a black market where illegal bookies will thrive. An environment like this means there is no auditing, no safe guard, no paper trail and increased opportunities for corruption. We will not have access to dialogue between the punter and the bookmaker and therefore will be unable to scrutinise the information should the need arise.
In regards to recent public debate about the proliferation of advertising from wagering operators at sporting events; while Betstar does not currently advertise in this space, we are listening to the public opinion and think the right balance can be found between giving sports fans the betting market information they are looking for and the saturation of the advertising.
At Betstar, we work closely with various sporting bodies to help protect the integrity of their various sports. We recognise the need to ensure sport is free of corruption to ensure that punters can have a bet with complete confidence in the integrity of the event they are betting on. If we are unable to achieve this common goal then spectators and fans along with punters will lose faith in the credibility of their sport of choice and this is a dangerous and slippery slide for any sporting code.