Will they do the right thing?

After plenty of exploration into different markets within Betfair, my conclusion is that we in Australia are being denied by our lovely government from operating on an even keel. The Internet Gambling Act blocks us from betting (and hence trading) in-play on any event other than horse racing. Actually, it doesn't stop us. It only stops us from doing so over the Internet. So the potentially lucrative in-play markets of football and tennis are only open to us over the antiquated medium of the telephone. Since we all know how fast markets move, this represents a trading impossibility.

A ray of light on the horizon is the Productivity Commission report which I believe has now been submitted to the government, which recommends the repealing of this stupid piece of legislation which was originally brought in to prohibit the advent of micro-betting, but now serves only to hinder traders and also, ironically, block the government from taxation revenue from internet gambling outlets (eg poker sites). That money all goes overseas since, while they make it illegal to provide an interactive gambling experience to Australians, they can not enforce this outside Australia, meaning we can still access non-Australian sites. Furthermore, this legislation is reportedly completely unpoliced.

The law, as they so often say, is an ass. With a bit of luck, this new report might carry some weight in putting us prospective traders on an even keel with our international rivals. It seems ridiculous that international Betfair customers can trade or bet in-play on Australian A-League, cricket or tennis matches, while we in Australia can not.

All logic would point to the removal of this irrelevant legislation as a matter of procedure. However, what stands in our way are the self-appointed defenders of our righteousness, the likes of Senator Nick Xenophon who have apparently pledged to oppose the lifting of this ban, as anything that comes under the banner of gambling is a strict no-no, and so shall it ever be. Sadly, Senator Xenophon apparently has enough support, in the form of our illustrious Greens, to bog the move in enough bureaucracy to effectively render it from ever passing through Parliament.

Since this subject is the hot potato of gambling, I can see this heading towards the "too hard" basket and those of us who wish to pursue trading without becoming embroiled in problematic gambling addictions will be left at a perennial competitive disadvantage.

I only hope that the government can see past the potentially inflammatory subject heading of 'gambling' and understand the implications to honest citizens of their ridiculous censorships and put enough pressure on Parliament to see the recommendations through.