Corporate bookmakers have welcomed Friday's announcement of proposed changes by the NSW and Victorian governments that will allow them to advertise freely interstate.Spokesman for the Northern Territory-based Centrebet, Neil Evans, believes the lifting of the restrictions will change the landscape of betting in Australia for the better."It's not just great for bookmakers, it's great for the punters because they'll have more competition and that will open up more options for them," Evans said."It
Corporate bookmakers have welcomed Friday's announcement of proposed changes by the NSW and Victorian governments that will allow them to advertise freely interstate.
Spokesman for the Northern Territory-based Centrebet, Neil Evans, believes the lifting of the restrictions will change the landscape of betting in Australia for the better.
"It's not just great for bookmakers, it's great for the punters because they'll have more competition and that will open up more options for them," Evans said.
"It's time that big and small bookmaking operations around the country were on a level playing field and we've been pushing for this for a long time.
"NSW and Victoria were the last remaining bricks in the wall and we welcome this news."
Mark Morrissey, spokesman for Colin Tidy's Betchoice, was delighted with the proposed changes and said they were long overdue.
"We've been waiting five years or so for this to happen and we'll be using a scattergun approach as far as our advertising is concerned," Morrissey said.
"We're based in NSW and have a high profile here but we've been waiting pretty keenly to get a higher profile in Victoria and now we can do that."
Victorian Racing Minister Rob Hulls and his NSW counterpart, Gaming and Racing Minister Kevin Greene, are working to quickly draft new advertising reforms which will include strict guidelines including "appropriate consumer protections".
"While opening the way for advertising by bookmakers licensed in other jurisdictions, Victoria remains committed to a responsible gambling environment," Mr Hulls said in a statement.
"We will also be proposing guidelines in relation to advertising standards for wagering service providers to ensure that appropriate consumer protection measures are included."
Both ministers agreed current restrictions on advertising by overseas bookmakers would remain.
"Over the past few weeks, wagering operators have placed advertisements in NSW offering inducements to open betting accounts and I am concerned these advertisements have no regard for the need to minimise the harm associated with problem gambling," Mr Greene said in the joint statement.
"These new laws mean our states can restrict the nature of advertising to ensure integrity and reduce harm when Australian wagering operators legally advertise in NSW."
There has been no date listed for the legislative changes to come before either parliament.