A joint betting venture between TOTE Tasmania Pty Ltd, ACTTAB Limited and Racing and Wagering Western Australia is likely to be authorised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The proposal before the ACCC is to grant authorisation to let the agencies jointly supply fixed odds betting services and to appoint Centrebet Pty Ltd to manage these services.
"By offering fixed odds betting jointly, TOTE Tasmania, ACTTAB and RWWA can offer punters a greater range of products at more competitive odds," ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said.
TOTE Tasmania, ACTTAB and RWWA are the licensed totalisator in their respective jurisdictions. Each also offers fixed odds betting through retail outlets and by phone and internet.
Previously TOTE Tasmania, ACTTAB and RWWA offered fixed odds betting through a national book operated by Tabcorp under the TAB Sportsbet banner. Their participation in these arrangements ended on May 29 2009.
Since then, TOTE Tasmania, ACTTAB and RWWA have jointly offered fixed odds betting under an interim authorisation granted by the ACCC.
"The Australian betting industry is rapidly evolving and fixed odds betting, in particular, is becoming increasingly popular as more and more punters bet with corporate bookmakers," Mr Samuel said.
"This proposal will allow the agencies to more effectively and efficiently manage the risk associated with running a fixed odds wagering book and reduce their administrative costs."
While Centrebet will manage the arrangements, it will not offer fixed odds betting under the arrangements. Centrebet will continue to operate its own, separate fixed odds betting and set its own odds independently of TOTE Tasmania, ACTTAB and RWWA.
Authorisation provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.
The ACCC's draft determination will be available from the ACCC website, via the Public registers and Authorisations and notifications registers links.
The ACCC invites submissions from interested parties in relation to the draft determination before making its final decision. Parties wishing to make submissions should do so by July 17 2009. Please refer to the website for further information about making a submission to the ACCC.