Australia
Gambling expert moots WADA-style anti-corruption unit
Charles Livingstone, an Australia-based gambling expert, has called for an international anti-corruption unit to monitor athletes, much like the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that monitors illegal drug-taking by athletes.
He said he hopes the US entry into live sports betting might help his efforts for an international anti-corruption unit to monitor athletes.
Charles Livingstone is the head of the gambling and social determinants unit at Melbourne’s Monash University. He has been calling for several years the formation of the monitoring agency for potential corruption among athletes.
“Now that the United States is going to allow gambling on sporting events, I’m hoping it might become a real possibility,” Livingstone said.
A US Supreme Court decision last week clearing the way for states to legalise sports betting came 10 years after Australia’s highest court did similar to allow more widespread betting on sporting events Down Under.
After a gambling agency challenged existing laws, a 2008 Australian High Court decision removed restrictions preventing bookmakers licensed in one jurisdiction from advertising in another. This change prompted the entry of international corporate bookmakers into the Australian sports market to capitalise on the country’s penchant for both gambling and sport.
It has spurred a whole range of new betting options, including some on minute detail.
Livingstone said one way to reduce the potential for corruption among athletes would be to stop so-called “spot betting” where gamblers can bet on such things as how the first points in a game might be scored, or when the first double-fault might occur in a tennis match.
Australian rugby league player Ryan Tandy was convicted of trying to manipulate the first score of a 2010 National Rugby League match and a former Australian Open junior champion was banned for seven years for purposely losing the first set of a match at a low-level tournament.
“Ban spot-betting,” Livingstone says bluntly. “There is enormous potential for corruption. It’s a small step from there to starting to throw games.” He says a WADA-style agency monitoring corruption could also help educate athletes, as the anti-doping agency does.
Government figures show that 80 percent of Australians gamble, the highest percentage of any country (Singapore is second, Ireland third) although that figure includes those who might bet once a year on a horse race or play the lottery. More than a billion Australian dollars ($758 million) is spent each year on live sports gambling in the country.
Source: AP
Australia
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Australia
ACMA: Tabcorp Pays $262,000 Penalty for Illegal In-Play Bets
Tabcorp Holdings Limited (Tabcorp) has paid a $262,920 penalty for taking online in-play sports bets, which is illegal in Australia.
An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found Tabcorp accepted 854 in-play bets across 69 tennis matches between April and October 2023.
Online in-play betting—wagers made on a sporting event after it has commenced—is prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
Authority member Carolyn Lidgerwood said the ban on online in-play betting is in place to protect vulnerable people.
“In-play betting increases access to gambling opportunities and exacerbates the risks of gambling harm, as people can place bets with high frequency on multiple outcomes during sporting events,” Ms Lidgerwood said.
“There has been significant growth in online sports betting in recent years and it’s important all online wagering services have systems in place so that illegal in-play bets are not accepted.”
During the investigation Tabcorp reported that the breaches occurred due to a technical “bug” in its systems. While the error first occurred in April 2023, it was not fixed until October 2023.
“Tabcorp is a major wagering operator and it is concerning that it took some 6 months for the system error to be identified and fixed,” Ms Lidgerwood said.
In addition to paying the $262,920 penalty, Tabcorp has also advised the ACMA of controls it now has in place and future steps it will be taking to minimise the risk of online in-play bets being accepted.
In its consideration of this matter the ACMA also took into account that Tabcorp had voided all bets so consumers did not suffer any loss and Tabcorp did not profit from the errors.
Tabcorp was previously issued a formal warning by the ACMA in November 2021 for accepting in-play bets on a United States college basketball game.
Australia
AUSTRAC and Pacific Financial Intelligence Units Gather in Brisbane to Tackle Financial Crime in the Region
Identifying ways to combat serious financial crime is the key focus when financial intelligence units (FIUs) from across the Pacific meet in Brisbane.
Representatives from 13 Pacific nations are gathering for the Pacific Financial Intelligence Community (PFIC) plenary, which is hosted by AUSTRAC.
The three-day event, which is now going on, provides a valuable opportunity for FIUs to further explore initiatives to fight financial crime. These include joint operations, intelligence sharing, capacity-building activities and region-wide technological enhancements.
Since last year’s meeting in the Cook Islands, PFIC members have focused their efforts on combating transnational organised crime, corruption and child sexual exploitation. AUSTRAC has worked with FIUs to ensure they have the training and capabilities required to proactively identify and tackle these crimes.
As well as ongoing themes such as money laundering, this year’s meeting will also address emerging issues such as illicit use of cryptocurrency, new payment platforms and gambling in the region.
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said PFIC is a good example of the value strong regional partnerships bring to combating money laundering and other serious financial crime.
“As Australia’s financial intelligence unit, we’re not just focused on ensuring the security of Australia’s financial system, we also have a key role to play in working with our neighbours to combat the harms posed by criminal networks across the region,” Mr Thomas said.
“To put it into perspective, behind each of these crimes are people who are left devastated by the impacts of online scams, child sexual exploitation, environmental crimes or drug trafficking.
“PFIC was established by AUSTRAC and other regional partners in 2021 to promote greater collaboration among Pacific FIUs, and we’re so proud of the outcomes it’s already delivered.”
The Head of the Cook Islands FIU and outgoing Co-Chair of the PFIC, Mr Walter Henry, said he’s honoured to have played a leading role in PFIC over the last two years.
“Serious financial crime affects all of our nations, so we must work together to combat threats which undermine our financial security and community safety,” Mr Henry said.
“The PFIC has proven to be a vital channel for sharing intelligence, for working on capability enhancements and for staying across emerging threats and developments in technology.”
The Attorney-General will address the conference, to speak about Australia’s commitment to building strong regional partnerships to combat transnational financial crime, and ongoing efforts to strengthen Australia’s anti-money laundering system.
Representatives from the financial intelligence units of Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu will be in attendance.
AUSTRAC is the permanent Co-Chair of the forum. The Head of the Fiji FIU is scheduled to take on the rotating Co-Chair position at the end of this plenary meeting.
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