Australia strengthens online betting controls

Australian State of Victoria has signed an international agreement to control match fixing.

Australia.- The State of Victoria has reached an agreement with the ESSA Group  (Sports Betting Integrity) to prevent match fixing operations related to licensed iGaming platforms. The agreement was signed between the international organisation and the Australian state Police and is aimed at revealing 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.”

Furthermore, several Australian states have adopted a 15 per cent tax on digital betting and Victoria could be next. However, local operators are taking their efforts to a whole new level in order to stop state officials from rolling out the “point-of-consumption” tax. The first 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 unclear what conclussions they’ve come up with.