Australian Federal Court Ruling could have Wider Effect on Gaming

A recent Australian federal court ruling overturned the Victoria Territory gaming law. The Victorian law was one of many Australian gambling laws banning online betting kiosks. The federal court overturned the law after finding it flawed and illegal, and also creating a legal precedent for other Australian states.

This particular case unfolded around Betbox, an internet betting kiosk operated by Sportsbet. The kiosk allowed punters to connect to the Sportsbet website from land-based locations such as shops, malls and restaurants and was classified as a form of online gambling.

At the end of 2010, Sportsbet together with Eureka Hotel argued that the Victorian Gambling Regulation Act of 2003 was discriminatory on constitutional grounds. The Federal court ruled in their favor much to the disappointment of the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation (VCGR), the State of Victoria and the rest of the Australian anti-gambling forces including Senator Xenophon.

Online gambling news in Australia was shown that Betbox operates via a touchscreen terminals and offers bettors an opportunity to wager online in Victoria through a sportsbook, which is regulated and licensed in the Northern Territory.

The court’s ruling could potentially open up the market to online sportsbooks in Australia using similar technology. Tabcorp has indicated that it intends to appeal the court’s decision, which also affects land based sports betting and horse racing. VCGR and the state of Victoria so far are not intending to appeal the ruling.

This is the second time the state of Victoria and Sportsbet saw each other in court over online betting services. In 2009 VCGR deemed Sportsbet’s Venuenet service illegal and unauthorized betting tool. However, this time around the bookie came out on top.