BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind?

and so the fun begins - the tassie premier has got his way and will introduce the necessary legislation to allow betfair to legally do its thing in this country.
clearly he and several media writers are just so blind to the harm this will do. i'm not referring to turnover, or punters leaving the tab's in droves. the one issue the supporters OF BETFAIR simply fail to admit is......IT CREATES THE 'OPPORTUNITY' FOR ANYONE, FROM TRAINER, JOCKEY, OWNER, STABLEHAND, FLOAT DRIVER, STRAPPER, ANYONE WITH ACCESS TO THE HORSE, TO DO SOMETHING, WHETHER ON THE DAY, THE DAY PRIOR, OR IN THE HORSES LEAD UP, TO RUIN THE HORSES CHANCES TO WIN OR RUN A PLACE IN A RACE, AND PROFIT 'HEAVILY' FROM IT, BECAUSE THEY CAN 'BE THE BOOKIE', TAKE BETS FROM OTHERS ON IT KNOWING IT WILL LOSE, AND RUN OFF INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE. NOW I DO ACKNOWLEGDE THAT THE AUDIT PROCESS THAT WILL BE IN PLACE 'SHOULD' STOP THESE TYPES FROM WANTING TO TAKE PART IN SUCH CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, BUT THE PROBLEM IS BETFAIR 'GIVES' SOMEONE THE OPPORTUNITY, AND I GUARANTEE, THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENS, THE INTEGRITY OF AUSTRALIAN RACING IS SHOT. PEOPLE WHO INVEST IN HORSES THRU OWNERSHIP, PUNTING, OR THE THOUSANDS OF JOBS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY ARE GONE. INTEGRITY IS EVERYTHING IN THIS INDUSTRY, AND SO WITHOUT IT, IT MAY AS WELL RETURN TO ITS DAYS OF AMATEUR RIDERS AND $1000 STAKES, BECUASE THATS ALL IT WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD.

I REPEAT, THIS DECISION MADE BY LENNON IS ABOUT GIVING THOSE WHO WANT TO DECEIVE, AND 'PROFIT' FROM IT, THE BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY THEY WILL EVER GET.

RACINGS PAST HISTORY OF SKULLDUGGERY SAW HORSES DRUGGED, INJURED ETC AND FORCED TO LOSE, BUT IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR THESE PEOPLE TO 'EASILY' PROFIT FROM IT - TODAYS DECISION MAKES IT EASY FOR 'ANYONE' TO PROFIT FROM STOPPING A HORSE TO RACE ON ITS MERITS.

ANY CONTRIBUTORS.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

Ah! yes Baglimit

Things never look quite the same when you really know and understand the true nature of humans.

Cheers
Happytrader

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

for those amongst us not familiar with what betfair is and the problems it has had with establishing itself in australia, here is a link to many articles, both biased and unbiased, both for and against.

create a view and provide discussion

http://www.bettingmarket.com/headlines.htm

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

Hey Baglimit, your comments aren't at all biased given you are an ex-Tabcorp employee and probably still hold mountains of TAH shares is it????

I do agree that Betfair opens the door for corruption, which is a bad thing, but you gotta admit that is good for the consumer when you can take out a middle man like the TAB, who takes 10% of the bet value!!!

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

well done fleeta - you have a memory - yes i am a tah holder - but my concerns lie with the effect betfair has on the industry - i am a punter, i can see the 'value' betfair can give a punter, but refuse to use them because of the situation they can produce. my argument is purely and simply with the integrity of the industry, and under their current process they cannot get close to guarantee this. i mentioned in my opening argument, as many others have too, that turnover / profitability aint the issue, as betfair have existed for several years and tah has continued to grow - my fear is what will happen to the industry, and yes tah, when betfairs product allows corruption to occur 'easily'.
stick to nvc fleeta - u pot stirrer.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

happytrader said:

Ah! yes Baglimit

Things never look quite the same when you really know and understand the true nature of humans.

Cheers
Happytrader

Click to expand...

I do not think Lennon is so blind at all. He is a realist and plainly sees Betfair and others like it as the future in the industry. He is placing himself at the beginning of what will be the future trend here in Australia. No doubt other states will rationalise and follow suite when they realise there is a buck in it for them. Yeh sure I agree that the integrity of the industry will be compromised. But any mind focused in this way will always find a method of exploitation. It took awhile to get pokies up here in Qld but they eventually go here just the same. Oh the power of the mightly buck.

Cheers
Happytrader

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

"Yeh sure I agree that the integrity of the industry will be compromised. But any mind focused in this way will always find a method of exploitation."

thats right, they will find a method - the problem is betfair offers the 'most simple, easy to access, anyone can access' method yet.

and thats where the problem lies - australian racing owes its growth, popularity, jobs, revenues, prizemoney, and its 'these days' clean image to the fact that the tab's & the modern management of the clubs have made it worthwhile to invest in horseflesh or make a career in the industry. in the past the fear that someone is out there to ruin your chances was caused by a desire to gain revenge (eg disgruntled stable staff), rather than profit from it directly. now anyone can profit from their actions directly - and we are not talking a couple of hundred dollars either - pick any race in melb or syd on a saturday - choose the horse you want to 'slow down', perform your deed, and then go about offering whatever odds you want to entice punters to think they are getting a bargain from backing the horse, when in fact it has no chance and they WILL be losing their money.....BANG - GOODBYE CREDIBILITY.

what betfair, or its product, creates is 'OPPORTUNITY' like they have never had before, for those who want to deceive and profit from it. lets face it, the urge to make money, and the ability to make it quickly or easily, is what commonly drives people to fraud or deception. BETFAIR PROVIDES THE TOOL.

and for those out there who are thinking WHO CARES ? - what if a company director was out there selling stock for seemingly bargain prices, and YOU end up one of the victims, watching the company fold and your investment vanish, how would you feel - ITS EXACTLY THE SAME THING.....BETTING ON A COMPANY TO LOSE.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

To suggest that Betfair will enable “dishonest punters to ruin the integrity of racing is in my view incorrect. Sure, you can lay a horse to lose, what is new? Any punter now can back several other horses in against a favourite and win, it has been happening on Tab’s and with bookies for years. Has anyone ever noticed the stewards inquiries where jockeys, owners, trainers, et al have been quizzed on not letting a horse run on its merits, not taking a clear run when available, doping, slipping saddles? Does anyone remember Fine Cotton? I even remember the time in W.A.that the late Laurie Connell (yes, the W.A. Inc Laurie) had his jockey literally jump off a horse just after the start, and yes, the jockey admitted it in an inquiry!!! Now where was the profit in that unless you had backed other horses to win? And the same Tab’s and bookies take bets on 1 to 1 events where by definition if you back one to win you are backing the other to lose…. Remember the cricket bookie scandals in India and South Africa. I seem to recollect a boxing match a few years ago involving an Aussie where everyone involved in world boxing had him clearly winning on points, everyone except two judges that is. The difference is definitely the audit trail. With Betfair every wager placed, backing or laying, is electronically recorded against a person who has had to supply I.D, these records are kept forever and are available to authorities in the event of any investigation into an event. Has anyone ever had to supply 100 point I.D. to place a bet or collect winnings with a TAB or bookie? The Head of Security for the U.K Jockey club has publicly stated that Betfair is a “huge help in tracking down illegal activity”, indeed there have been several cases in the U.K. recently where “long sought after individuals have been caught” by utilizing the Betfair audit trail evidence. He also said “ For me….betting exchanges are a great help, a huge help. The one message I would say is that they are not the threat to integrity that people are saying they are.That is just not true.” But what does he know; Betfair has been running in the U.K. for several years now.
All of these fanciful claims are coming from people with vested interests in keeping wagering the way it is. Check out a bookies board, convert the prices to percentages, ( eg. 2/1 is 1 chance of winning against 2 of losing, or 33%…..4/1 is 1 chance of winning against 4 of losing, 20% ) and you will regularly see total percentages of 140%-160%.. where break even is 100%. Bookies are really turf accountants, adjusting prices to attract bets to ensure a winning percentage for themselves regardless of the result. And the various Tab’s fixed odds, the % here for the Melbourne cup 2 days before the race was 128%, generous when consider that the field was down to the final 24, any bets on the other 100 odd initial entries were already in the kitty (no refunds on all in early betting).
Now the TAB with every day betting, put $1 on a horse and only 85c goes into the prize pool, a guaranteed 15c in the dollar. Then in comes rounding…. The standard 91c and 92c, becomes 90c and 93c and 94c becomes 95c. Oh no, the Tab’s only round down… and just to compound it if for example there is $94.02 in the pool to be divided between 100 punters do they round that down, not likely, not much skim there, it is divide up between the 100 mugs for 94 c each, then rounded to 90c, so if you had 10 units on it instead of getting $9.40c you get $9 even.
Betfair, 5% commission on winning bets.
Since Betfairs start-up in the U.K. race funding has doubled. In the last 4 years U.K. prize money has grown by +40% . It is little wonder the “vested interests” are running a scare campaign to keep their cozy monopoly.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

thank you for that kauri -

1. the events you suggested re:jockeys jumping off etc were all long ago, a point i highlighted - i will never deny things can / do happen - the point i will make again is that they become 1000 times easier to occur under the 'back a horse to lose' situation, made possible with betfair.

2. i have deliberately neglected to not mention other sporting events (usually player vs player or team vs team) because backing 1 team/player to win is obviously the same as backing the other to lose. i have no complaint with betfair having 'sports' and other events to entice punters with. my issue is with betfair allowing punters the opportunity to back a horse to lose (against many competitors) - reasons why i have already stated.

3. your idea that 'just back the other runners' will normally fail mathematically because you cannot be assured of a profit by backing every other runner in a race - betfair offers you the chance to do exactly that, and guarantee the profit, by backing one horse to lose.

4. i will not disagree with the situation re:rounding, or bookies percentages, but again, thats not my issue here.

5. i would be very interested to know where you sourced your 40% increase figure from - very interested !!

6. i agree their audit trail is the best way to catch these people out.
BUT, as previously mentioned, greed, or at least the ease with which betfair allows someone to make money by somehow stopping a horse, will never be stopped by an audit trail - the criminal doesnt always think of consequences, does he ?

p.s. for anyone interested, to find out what effect rounding has on tah's profit, have a look at makybe divas dividend. i havent got access to the figures obviously, but if you knew how many 'units' were on makybe on tues, divided that into the available win pool, its possible you came up with a 'real' divvy of say $3.67. tah pays out $3.60 for every unit, and keeps the $0.07. now multiply that by how many units were on makybe - it always added up to a sizeable figure - my guess would be $100k +. the rounding figures used to be published years ago, and always caused grief - any wonder they dont publish them anymore.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

Hi son of baglimit.


5. i would be very interested to know where you sourced your 40% increase figure from - very interested !!
Story from www.aapracingandsports.com.au,

UK: Record Year For English Racing

Saturday, 15 January 2005: The British Horseracing Board is chuffed over record prizemoney and attendance statistics for 2004.

UK prizemoney passed the £100 million barrier for the first time as more than 6 million went racing during the year.

Total prize money reached a record £101.3 million, a 7.6% rise on 2003 and took increases in prize money of over the last four years to more than 40%.

Racecourse attendances at 1299 meetings reached 6.05 million in 2004, a slight rise of 0.5% on the 2003 total of 6.02 million.

Horses in training in the UK tallied 14,129 compared to 13,288 in 2003.

The number of races run rose from 8028 to 8577 and attrcated 92,761 runners compared to 83,063 in 2003.

BHB chief executive Greg Nichols was delightd by the figures.

“These landmarks provide compelling evidence of the sport’s prosperity," Nichols said.

“The hard work of racecourses, effective centralised marketing and a better structured Fixture List have all played a role in attaining record attendances."

UK RACING STATISTICS

1999-2004

Prizemoney (£)

2004 - 101,309,953; 2003 - 94,149,963; 2002 - 84,203,203; 2001 - 71,662,045; 2000 - 71,690,306; 1999 - 69,062,983

Attendances

2004 - 6,047,226; 2003 - 6,019,481; 2002 - 5,557,758; 2001 - 4,886,293; 2000 - 5,164,061; 1999 - 5,175,490

Horses In Training

2004 - 14,129; 2003 - 13,288; 2002 - 12,986; 2001 - 13,310; 2000 - 12,731; 1999 - 12,737

Fixtures Staged

2004 - 1299; 2003 - 1220; 2002 - 1158; 2001 - 1065; 2000 - 1132; 1999 - 1151

Races Run

2004 - 8577; 2003 - 8028; 2002 - 7691; 2001 - 7141; 2000 - 7422; 1999 - 7528



3. your idea that 'just back the other runners' will normally fail mathematically because you cannot be assured of a profit by backing every other runner in a race - betfair offers you the chance to do exactly that, and guarantee the profit, by backing one horse to lose.

I am not the brightest light on the christmas tree but i have managed to do it several times...find a race with preferably 10 or less runners and where the nag you want to lay is evens or in the red. Handicap the rest of the field and Dutch book your best 3 to win, dutching will give a profit whichever ( and of course if ) of the three win.

1. the events you suggested re:jockeys jumping off etc were all long ago, a point i highlighted - i will never deny things can / do happen - the point i will make again is that they become 1000 times easier to occur under the 'back a horse to lose' situation, made possible with betfair.

Not according to the Director of security for UK Jockey Club, Paul Scotney in an interview with Sport 927, and Betfair has been operating there for several years.


This has been going on for years, Betfair hasn't caused it, rather it has exposed it.
Fallon bailed again in race-fixing probe

FORMER champion jockey Kieren Fallon was released on police bail after being questioned over race-fixing allegations.

The married father-of-three, who has a home in Cowlinge and a flat in Newmarket, was driven away from the rear entrance of London's Bishopsgate police station in a blacked-out people carrier on Tuesday night after being told he must return to answer bail in March.
Back on bail: Kieren Fallon
He is one of 27 people arrested so far in Britain's largest ever horse racing corruption investigation, codenamed Operation Crypton.

The jockey has said he is confident of being cleared of any wrongdoing and attended City of London police station with his legal representative.

Just over a year ago the six times champion jockey was dramatically arrested in his pyjamas at 5am at a friend's house in Newmarket before being questioned for 12 hours by detectives at Bury St Edmunds police station.

Police have been conducting an intensive investigation into an alleged fixing racket, which they suspect may have involved more than 90 races between 2002 and 2004.

Half a dozen other jockeys and trainers have also been arrested but not charged. Some of those held have already had their police bail extended until next February.

The police swoops followed irregular betting on the internet exchange Betfair which allows punters to "lay" horses - effectively they act as the bookmaker taking bets from other online gamblers.

It is claimed the system opens up the possibility that an unscrupulous jockey on a highly-fancied mount could be paid to lose and a gambler "laying" the horse on Betfair would win.

Betfair passed records from its sophisticated tracking of betting patterns to the Jockey Club which in turn called in the City of London Police, which has the country's largest financial fraud investigation team.

Police have asked him about his connections with Miles Rodgers, formerly a director of the Platinum Racing Club syndicate.

Rodgers was "warned off " - barred from racecourses - for two years by the Jockey Club in March last year after he was found to have made bets on Betfair that two of the syndicate's horses would lose.

He has since described the Jockey Club ruling as a "travesty" and denies wrongdoing.

Fallon, 40, claims to have met Rodgers only once, during a 10- minute car journey from Leicester racecourse to an airport, and not to have known who he was anyway.

Meanwhile, Fallon's good form on the track continues with his first win in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday. The Irish rider also triumphed in the Prix Marcel Boussac and in the Prix

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

Son of Baglimit...
Race fixing, in my opinion, has been going on since the day man first got on a horses back.... the difference now with Betfair it is being proved.

Tuesday, 8 October, 2002, 06:11 GMT 07:11 UK
At the heart of the matter


Davies (left) and Buffham raised a series of issues

The BBC's Panorama claims to expose what it calls the "corruption of racing", making a series of allegations against the sport's regulators, the Jockey Club, leading jockeys and bookmakers.

Panorama exposes 'corruption of racing'
The two main allegations concern race-fixing and free betting on the sport.

Race-fixing claims

Notoriously difficult to prove, at least 20 jockeys have played a part in race-fixing, according to Panorama.
Some have been accused of taking money to alter the course of races and deliberately not trying. While others have reportedly taken part in doping.
Intelligence and information we had was that national hunt jockeys had close links with organised crime

Ex-Jockey Club security head Roger Buffham
Among those to blow the lid off the practice was former jockey Dermot Browne.
Browne, currently serving a 10-year ban from the Jockey Club for giving information to a bookmaker and other offences, claimed on the programme:

"I got involved in doping in August 1990. We did about 27 races in the months between August and October."
He stopped when he was arrested later in the year but insisted "that did not stop Brian Wright".

'Three decades of scandal'
Wright, head of the most successful cocaine smuggling gang ever to target Britain, is said to have helped dope horses and fix races and had a number of jockeys on his pay roll.
Browne continued: "He gave them five grand or something like that.
"He (one jockey) did very well out of it. I'd get phone calls from (him) or other jockeys and I'd say 'Have you spoken to Uncle?' That's what everyone called him (Wright).
"They did big races, as big as the Cheltenham Festival. The bigger the race, the bigger the betting. I actually saw some of them collecting their money."
The extent of race-fixing and links with Wright were backed by Roger Buffham, the former Jockey Club head of security and the whistleblower behind the Panorama programme.

Browne said race-fixing was widespread

Buffham told Panorama: "Intelligence and information we had was that national hunt jockeys had close links with organised crime.
"It strikes at the heart of the integrity of horse racing...(that) a jockey can directly affect the outcome of a horse race."
The Jockey Club, however, insisted they were helpless to act against Wright.
Christopher Foster, the executive director, said: "From 1996 to 2002 we were either compromised by serious criminal investigations or could not act because a judge had ordered restrictions on reporting."
Towards the end of the programme he goes further, insisting there had been no foul play.
He added: "We act when there's evidence. I don't recall any situation where evidence was available to us where we did not take action."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No-lose betting claims

The hour-long special's first major allegation centres on Victor Chandler, one of Britain's leading bookmakers.

Buffham suggested that Chandler had, back in the 1990s, opened "free" betting accounts for a number of leading trainers.

He claimed the bookmaker wrote to a number of trainers, offering them accounts up to a certain amount, which would be topped up if they made a loss.


Panorama's major allegations
Race-fixing and doping by jockeys and criminals
Victor Chandler bookmakers had in the past offered free betting for leading trainers
Jockey Club accused of failing to police the sport
Flat jockeys linked with Hong Kong criminals
Andy Davies, the programme's narrator, said: "If trainers did not bet then bookies knew not to back it. If they did, then they'd go for it."

Trainers Jimmy Fitzgerald and Gay Kelleway were approached in front of the cameras with letters allegedly revealing they had "no lose accounts".

Kelloway simply said, "get your facts right", while Fitzgerald reacted angrily, attempting to tear up the letter.

Fitzgerald later revealed that he had had an account with Victor Chandler but that it was not a "no lose" one.

Buffham's take on Chandler's actions was that it had been "very wrong".

While Chandler refused to comment when approached, Foster added: "It was not an offence under any betting regulation and it was not an offence under the rules of racing.

"We have taken action to now make it difficult. There is no way we would approve of bookmakers paying for privileged information."

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

I used to be a trainer and have won races from Eagle Farm to Flemington...one of my nags even held a track record at Moonee Valley for a time. L.R. Connell attended my 21st. One of my best mates (who now trains in singapore) was a foreman for TJ Smith. There's not much I don't know about this game. (A lot I wish I never knew)

Loosen my tongue up with a few beers and I will tell stories about race fixing till dawn. But :-X for now!

Suffice to say, its rampant. Always has been, alway will.

Cheers

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

Tas Parliament approves Betfair legislation

The House of Assembly has passed legislation allowing Betfair to be licensed in Tasmania.

Premier Paul Lennon tabled a motion restricting the time allowed for debate on the Bill to six hours.

Mr Lennon told the House concerns about the financial impact on the state's racing industry were unfounded.

He says the chief executive of Unitab admitted yesterday Betfair will have no effect on other betting services.

"That our advice has always been, and remains, and Dick Mackelway, the CEO of Unitab is confirming that, there is no threat to pari-mutual betting wagering in this country from Betfair - Betfair is a different market all together," he said.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

I have to disagree with son of baglimit. Nothing has changed in regards to race fixing or any other type of sport. Fixing is rampant in horse racing and any claims you have made would apply whether Bet Fair existed or not. Its just another way for people to gripe about losing money on horses rather than blaming themselves. In many ways similar to the stock market you could say, with the existence of insider trading etc. We all know it goes on.

Bet Fair has been in the UK and Ireland for a while and there has always bee controversy over it, but it has settled slightly. It has been particularly effective in cutting out the middle man, avoiding paying tax at the counter like you have to in Irish betting offices.

I personally think its a great idea and opens up many opportunites, not to mention bringing the "older" generation on to the www who like a bet but would have never have bothered to discover the joys of the www otherwise.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

Kauri said:

Premier Paul Lennon tabled a motion restricting the time allowed for debate on the Bill to six hours.

Click to expand...

Off topic for a moment, this increasingly frequent gagging of debate is wrong IMO. We elect and pay politicians to debate these issues and if it takes all night then so be it. That's what they're there to do. This time limiting business is rather suspicious IMO.

Now back on topic of racing, a colleague used to be part owner in a race horse and from what he tells me the whole thing is, to be polite, rather iffy to start with. Race fixing etc.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

The trots would be the place to look for iffy practices first from what ive heard; garbage bins full of hypodermics and such.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

Milk Man said:

The trots would be the place to look for iffy practices first from what ive heard; garbage bins full of hypodermics and such.

Click to expand...

And then there is what they dope the horses with :jump:

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

thanks everyone for the contributions - havent had time to analyse fully yet, but heres some more :

Betting Exchange Legislation Fundamentally Flawed [21/11/2005]


The Australian Racing Board has obtained legal advice relating to the betting exchange legislation introduced into the Tasmanian Parliament.

The opinion given by eminent QC Douglas Graham (former Victorian Government Solicitor General and widely-respected constitutional lawyer) and barrister Dr Matt Collins will be provided to the Tasmanian Legislative Councillors in the ARB's presentation this week.

The opinion strongly supports the Australian Racing Board's view that the Bill fails to deliver the protections claimed by the Government.

The opinion states: "….. we can find little support for Premier Lennon's assurance, in the second reading speech, that the Bill 'will raise the bar …. in relation to the probity and integrity of gambling. To the contrary, the deficiencies in the Bill suggest that, if passed, betting exchanges could become magnets for criminal and other undesirable activity both in Tasmania and elsewhere, so that the bar will be significantly lowered."

The opinion also states the view that Tasmania, acting alone, cannot adequately control users of betting exchanges located outside Tasmania.

"…Tasmanian legislation, enacted in isolation from co-operative legislation in other States & Territories, will foster an environment in which criminal activity, where it occurs, will be essentially incapable of being detected or deterred."

The opinion identifies more than 25 flaws, drafting errors, omissions and practical implementation issues associated with the Bill.

"Given the hurried drafting of this legislation, the lack of consultation with the Australian Racing Industry, and the fact that the Bill had a mere 45 minutes of in-Committee debate in the Lower House, it is not surprising to receive legal advice that the legislation is fundamentally flawed. Of greatest significance to me is the fact that critical concerns raised by the ARB, and mostly ignored by the Government, have been independently assessed as valid. The legislation in its current form poses a significant risk to the integrity of Australian racing," said Andrew Harding, Chief Executive of the Australian Racing Board.

The ARB plans to present to the Tasmanian Legislative Council case studies which expose the serious and fundamental flaws in the current legislation.

"The Tasmanian Government has failed to demonstrate to the racing industry and the community that this legislation will work. We plan to put before the people of Tasmania and their elected representatives realistic case studies that will convincingly show the unacceptable and serious risks that this proposed law will create" Harding said.

The legal opinion will be provided in full to all members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council, to the Premier the Hon. Paul Lennon and Racing Minister, the Hon. Jim Cox.

"It is time for the Government to move beyond rhetoric and debate the real issues. We continue to be willing to sit down and examine whether a viable regulatory framework can be found and believe that this will be best achieved through a full public inquiry that addresses all economic, social and legal issues associated with the licensing of betting exchanges" said Geoff Harper, Chairman of the Tasmanian Thoroughbred Racing Council.

In the months preceding the Government's decision to introduce legislation enabling the grant of a betting exchange licence, racing authorities from across the world have conveyed their concerns to the Tasmanian Government.

"In view of the various reports about a possible licensing of betting exchanges in Tasmania, allow me to express our deepest concerns. Racing authorities around the world are concerned about the uncontrolled, and in most countries unauthorised nature of online betting and betting exchanges in particular," - Louis Romanet, President International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

"We consider the establishment of a betting exchange in Tasmania a threat to all ARF racing and to the governments and communities we support. In this, we are fully in line with racing's world body, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA)," - Lawrence T Wong, Chairman Asian Racing Federation

"We share the concerns by the vast majority of racing authorities in the world about the threat from betting exchanges to the integrity of races, as they allow punters to bet on horses to lose," - - Denis Egan, Chief Executive, The Turf Club, Ireland

"Integrity is the most important area for all racing authorities. We must maintain the integrity of racing, not only in actuality, but also in appearance. I believe that there is no system of transparency concerning these Betting Exchanges that can be established to retain, or regain, the trust and confidence of racing fans once lost," - Masayuki Takahashi, President & CEO, The Japan Racing Association.

"It is simplistic to state that betting exchanges should be licensed because there is no alternative. Governments and racing authorities across the world are taking positive steps to stop unauthorised wagering," - Guy Sargent, Chairman, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Inc

"Betting exchanges go against the grain of everything that horse racing has stood, and still stands, for," - Rob de Kock, Chief Executive, The National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa.

"There's no question in my mind that it … the introduction of betting exchanges where people can make money out of horses losing races, is going to bring serious threat to the integrity of the sport. I have seen first-hand how betting exchanges have eroded margins and threatened both the integrity and finances of the sport in Great Britain. I believe they will ultimately prove the ruination of the Britain racing industry and can see that they have the ability to damage Australian racing to an ever greater extent," - Peter Savill, Former Chairman, British Horseracing Board.

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

The Chairman of the Australian Racing Board, Andrew Ramsden, has responded to today’s announcement by the Tasmanian Gaming Commission that it has issued a licence to the PBL and Sporting Exchange Limited consortium.
“The decision by the Tasmanian Gaming Commission to issue this licence was a foregone conclusion in November last year when the Premier announced his Government’s Deed of Agreement with the consortium. It comes as no surprise, but it cannot fail to leave a sour taste in the mouth of anyone who genuinely cares about the future of Australian racing.

Of the places we would compare ourselves with: Hong Kong; Japan; Singapore; South Africa; France; the US– none of these countries have licensed betting exchanges and their racing authorities reject the betting exchange model of wagering.

Within Australia, 7 States and Territories have listened carefully to the racing industry’s integrity concerns and given a resounding no to betting exchanges. One State has looked at the issue in purely selfish terms. It bears remembering that 99.9% of the intended business of any exchange licensed in Tasmaniawill be on races that are run in other parts of Australia. In effect, what Tasmaniaseems to think it can do is ‘come in on the grouter’ – set itself up to take taxes and fee payments on the back of someone else’s efforts.

We will be looking very closely at the licence conditions that the Tasmanian Gaming Commission has imposed, so far as these relate to the integrity of racing. We made detailed submissions to the Commission on what was required in this regard and if they have not been adequately addressed then we will have to consider our options. The Tasmanian Government promised to ‘raise the bar’ of probity and integrity, and the job of developing the necessary regulatory framework was given to the TGC. We want to see this promise honoured, and we’ve done everything we can to assist the Commission with advice on what is required. Unfortunately, communication is not the Commission’s strong suit, but we’l wait to see what they reveal.”

Re: BETFAIR - why is Lennon so blind ?

Stick to your guns Son of baglimit.

I agree with you completely.

Ask anybody in the industry - from jockeys,trainers,owners,punters and strappers - it is so much harder to ensure your horse wins than ensure your horse loses.

It doesn't take much to take the edge of a horses conndition. A trainer can adjust the training schedule, miss a couple of important sessions, put on a tongue tie, a strapper can simply change the feed from oats to lucerne hay two days before. Nothing illegal in any of this but it will affect the porformance of the horse.

Patrick Smith wrote a great article in The Australian about the integrity of the racing industry and why it doesn't need Betfair. Wish I had kept it.

I know it has always been a shady industry but I cannot see how Lennon's decision can possibly be a good thing for racing.