Tom Waterhouse calls Federal Government bluff on in-play betting

YOU could never say he didn’t have balls.

One of the punting world’s most polarising figures, William Hill chief executive officer Tom Waterhouse, has flown in the face of the Federal Government’s calls for online bookmakers to fall into line and remove their in-play betting features.

The Hills boss reckons the government cannot pass legislation to stop the practice until at least the end of the AFL and NRL finals and the Spring Carnival.

And that means the bookmaker will forge ahead with its controversial ‘click to call’ system, which has previously come under the scrutiny of the Federal Police, who chose not to pursue a case against it last year.

Human Services Minister Alan Tudge last week called on the bookmakers to cease offering the product, which allows people to place live bets from their mobile devices, without calling in to an agent, provided they have their microphones turned on.

He said the government would soon move to close the loopholes.

“We are of the view that they have been in breach of the intent of the law, if not the actual law,” Mr Tudge said.

“We do not intend to further expand the online betting market.

“We think there’s enough problems with gambling already, before giving people the ability to bet on every moment of every sport across Australia from your living room.

“I would hope they cease today because we have made clear they are at least operating against the spirit of the law, if not against the actual law.”

But News Limited has reportedly seen an internal email from William Hill’s head of investor relations, Lyndsay Wright, which indicates Hills will defy the government.

“We believe this (the election) will be called on 8 May and it’s an eight-week process. On that basis, we think the timeline for ­legislation ahead of the spring carnival is challenging. Therefore, changes are unlikely to ­impact 2016 significantly,’’ the email reportedly reads.

And the bookie’s peak body, the Australian Wagering Council, reckons the government’s move is unfair and gives TAB operators a leg up by allowing in-play betting at terminals.

“If the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 is to be amended … the minister should commit to truly level the playing field and ban the use of any technology that allows a person to place a bet in-play,” Australian Wagering Council chief executive Ian Fletcher said.

“If the government is going to ban one type of interactive technology, it must ban them all — otherwise the effect of the proposed legislative action will be to protect some wagering companies at the expense of others.”

Tudge made the calls last week, responding to former New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell’s probe into online gambling in the country.

Part of the recommendations from that investigation involve the banning of credit betting in Australia, which, judging by what reportedly came out of the Hills internal email, could spell very bad news for the corporates.

In the email, it apparently says that Hills makes approximately 20 per cent of its profits from punters betting on credit.

Under the major plans by the government, apart from closing the loophole on in-play betting and banning credit betting, a self exclusion scheme will be initiated, and an attack on illegal off shore bookmakers is expected.

“This will be the largest ­package introduced by an Australian government to combat problem gambling,’’ Mr Tudge said.

But it’s not going to happen until after the Federal election and, despite Tudge’s pleas, the online bookmakers appear free to do as they please – for the moment.

How they are impacted down the track and whether the ill will with the government produced here will come back to bite them, remains to be seen.

Our say on WilliamHill’s refusal to remove ‘click to call’

SO let us get this straight.

It’s perfectly fine to pick up the phone and call a bookie to place a live bet during a game, but the Australian Government says we’re not allowed to do it on our mobile phones?

Come on guys, seriously?

What year is this?

Just about every single person in Australia has a mobile phone or tablet, or both.

May of them choose to have a bet.

We get that gambling does become a serious problem for a percentage of punters out there, but surely the government can see that people are voting with their dollars, with in-play betting seen as a growth industry.

Can someone tell us the difference between calling up or placing the bet through your smart phone, apart from the heartbreak of missing out on your odds because the operator took too long to answer your call?

Maybe it’s so that we have to be less lazy when we want to whack a punt on?

It is a punters’ choice how they use their money and the problem with this archaic legislation – formed well before the advent of the smart phone and tablet – is that it will force more punters to bet with off shore bookmakers, who avoid the Federal Government’s net by being located in other countries.

Many tipped the government would relax the in-play laws following the O’Farrell probe, but it appears the opposite has happened and it’s not just the bookmakers who will pay for it.

It will simply be a pain in the arse for the average punter, who could easily be using his or her smart phone to place their live bets on, instead of having to call up.

What is the difference?