Betfair may burn you

[Lenny]

Hi All,

This may be a prickly topic but I'd appreciate your comments. As I understand it, betting on Australian races at Betfair is illegal within Australia, but it still seems that some of you do it. It is also illegal to bet inrunning on any event that allows this type of betting (e.g. American Football).

My question is this: to those of you who bet this way (races/inrunning), have you ever had any hassles as a result? Has Betfair ever dishonoured the bet, or has any complication arisen as a result of ignoring this law?

~Lenny

[La Mer]

Lenny, can only assume that you live in either NSW or WA, as it is NOT illegal to use any overseas betting exchange for betting on horse or harness racing elsewhere in Australia - there are no laws that prohibit the use of the likes of Betfair other than in those two states and even then, it is not illegal to bet on sports events with Betfair for those that live in NSW.

Also, no one has ever been prosecuted in NSW for any breach of those laws and it is doubtful anyone ever will and even then it is doubtful that the NSW laws would stand up to a Federal or High court challenge - its very much a toothless tiger used more to to scare people away than anything else.

The hypocrisy of TAB LTd who run those adds thru Sky (whom they own) is that they are in the process of establishing their own betting exchange, for the Australian Official Journal of Trade Marks in its 12 February 2004 edition gazettes the registration by TAB Ltd of "TABFAIR" and "TABEXCHANGE.

Go figure that one out.

And to answer your question - as a long term user of Betfair, never had any hassles and when I've queried them about a couple of issues they have always been most helpful.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: La Mer on 2004-03-04 09:19 ]</font>

[Shaun]

I am not sure it is illegal in WA and as for in the running you can't bet on a race once it has started from betfair...not sure about other sports.....and if you get burned like you say it would be our government that burns you not betfair.....the best solution is for Australia to open its own version of betfair and charge a tax or something to make it worth while.......but untill them let the revolution roll on

[Mark]

Betfair software no longer accepts "in-running" bets from Aust bettors.

[jacfin]

It is "illegal" in WA but they know they could never prosecute successfully.
Some of my WA friends ( not me of course ) use it whenever they want.

[becareful]

As others have said the law against betting on races with Betfair is a state based law and only applies in NSW and WA. As has also been stated nobody has EVER been prosecuted under these laws and almost certainly never will as the government wouldn't want to have them tested in a court. Much better to have it as a threat to broadcast on SKY than to have it actually tested and overturned by the courts! Certainly if I was living in NSW that is one law I would not pay any attention to - luckily here I can use Betfair from where I am without having to break any laws.

Despite the dire warnings on Sky about your money not being protected with offshore bookies in my opinion they are the safest place to have your funds deposited. They are definitely not going out of business and have always responded promptly to any questions I have raised and withdrawal requests (more than I can say about some other betting operators in this country.

[Lenny]

Thanks to all for the informed replies. Much appreciated.

Becareful - can you tell us which Aussie bookmakers you have had difficulty with, so we can avoid the same mistakes?

~Lenny

PS: Have any of you had problems with Betfair recently? I get an 'error on page' message at the bottom of my browser, and nothing I click on works. Thanks.

[Mark]

Lenny

Have a look at the Betfair forum, some problems are mentioned there & others offer advice on fixes. If in doubt ring Betfair, I have always found them helpful.