Australia strengthens online betting controls

Victoria, the Southeastern Australian State has entered into an international

agreement to regulate match fixing.

The agreement was set-up between the State of Victoria and the ESSA Group (Sports Betting Integrity) intending to prevent match fixing operations associated with licensed iGaming platforms. The agreement was signed between the international organisation and the Australian state Police targeting the disclosure of suspicious betting activity.

Detective Superintendent Peter Brigham explained: “We often refer to Melbourne as Australia’s sporting capital, however with that title comes a level of risk in relation to sports betting.” And added: “It is a massive business and in such a lucrative market there is always the potential for corruption.”

ESSA Group secretary General Khalid Ali welcomed the agreement stating: “Our cooperation arrangement with Victoria Police is an important cog in our global outreach and further highlights the international momentum and partnership working which is increasingly gathering pace between responsible stakeholders. This agreement sends a clear message of both parties’ desire to address an issue that blights the enjoyment of fans of both sport and betting.”

Moreover, several Australian states had adopted a 15 per cent tax on digital betting and Victoria could be the next. However, local operators are advancing their efforts to a completely new level to halt state officials from rolling out the “point-of-consumption” tax. The initial Board of Treasurers meeting served as a discussion hub for state and territory treasurers, who discussed the point-of-consumption taxes for online betting but it is still dubious what conclusions they’ve come up with.