interactivetv gambling inevitable article smh

a bit dated (May 2008 Roy Masters) but a few quotes from an article in the SMH


Football betting on exotic markets - such as tackle counts and metres gained - has been suspended by bookmakers because punters are confused which statistics agencies use when paying out on bets.

Do they use NRL stats or Fox Sports stats? The live count, or the revised post-match tally?

But rather than wait for the end of the match, the day can't be far away when punters bet during a match, sitting in their lounge chairs using the remote control.

Interactive, "on-the-run" betting is banned under federal legislation, but all the ducks are lined up in a row for it to happen.

Two Way Ltd, a listed company once chaired by Sam Chisholm - who still holds 6 per cent of the stock - has the technology for the punter to use his push-button remote to bet via the TV.

Two Way already holds exclusive right for interactive wagering on the Sky racing channel.

Government approval has come with the Victorian legislature agreeing recently that punters in that state may use the interactive technology to bet on race meetings anywhere in Australia.

The NSW Minister for Racing is considering its introduction.

Foxtel launched a wagering channel on April 28 that links Two Way with Tabcorp, the giant Victorian-based totalisator that took over NSW's TAB in late 2004.

All professional sports have become less antagonistic to sports betting since agencies such as Betfair guaranteed them a percentage.

It's inevitable, therefore, that interactive punting will extend to all Australian states and embrace all sports - including on-the-run wagers, where you bet on outcomes during a match.

Should it eventuate, the ghost of the NSW TAB will pervade sport. TAB's former chief executive, the wily Warren Wilson, bought exclusive use of Two Way in 2003 on a hunch that interactive gambling would become a reality and a future money-spinner.

The TAB's former legal counsel, Ben Reichel, switched to Two Way in February 2005, a couple of months after the Tabcorp takeover, and has led the charge to interactive betting, operating trivia games for the NRL and AFL; securing clients such as Tabcorp, Foxtel, Austar and Sky New Zealand, as well as selling interactive services overseas.

Wilson says: "It's an absolute certainty other sports and on-the-run betting will follow.

"The big money will still be in horse racing, but the volume of sports betting is rising.

"Cricket and the big football codes, such as the NRL, were initially against sports betting but it's now part of the norm.

"We'll see the punter place a bet from his lounge room that NSW's Jarryd Hayne will score the next try in an Origin match.

"You'll be able to sit on a plane and watch live sport and place a bet by mobile phone."

Reichel is more restrained, saying: "On-the-run betting is illegal under the Interactive Gambling Act and, although our technology can accommodate all sports betting, we are only allowed to take bets in Victoria on races before they've started."

Asked why Victoria embraced it, Reichel said, "Someone had to go first".

Two Way makes its money via commission from Tabcorp, roughly equivalent to the percentage taken from a phone bet.

Wilson says: "Every bet taken at the high street agency costs 4 per cent and every bet taken at a pub or club costs 2 per cent because the TAB isn't paying their rent.

"It cost about 1½ per cent to take a bet over the telephone but it cost virtually nothing, after establishment costs, to take a bet over the internet.

"When you are taking in $5 billion in turnover and you're shifting punters from the high street TAB to the TV remote, you're saving millions."

Asked if Two Way expected to make a motza, a less restrained Reichel said, "We hope so".

"We'll see the punter place a bet from his lounge room that NSW's Jarryd Hayne will score the next try in an Origin match.

"You'll be able to sit on a plane and watch live sport and place a bet by mobile phone."

Reichel is more restrained, saying: "On-the-run betting is illegal under the Interactive Gambling Act and, although our technology can accommodate all sports betting, we are only allowed to take bets in Victoria on races before they've started."

Asked why Victoria embraced it, Reichel said, "Someone had to go first".

Two Way makes its money via commission from Tabcorp, roughly equivalent to the percentage taken from a phone bet.

Wilson says: "Every bet taken at the high street agency costs 4 per cent and every bet taken at a pub or club costs 2 per cent because the TAB isn't paying their rent.

"It cost about 1½ per cent to take a bet over the telephone but it cost virtually nothing, after establishment costs, to take a bet over the internet.

"When you are taking in $5 billion in turnover and you're shifting punters from the high street TAB to the TV remote, you're saving millions."

Asked if Two Way expected to make a motza, a less restrained Reichel said, "We hope so".




http://business.smh.com.au/business/make-a-motza-you-bet-20080511-2d11.html?page=1