Australia is known for one of the most tightly regulated gambling industries in the world.  To further fuel that reputation, an amendment called the Betting and Racing Legislation Bill - Bill 146 - has been submitted to state parliament by Western Australia's Minister of Racing and Gaming, Mark McGowan.  The amendment specifically aims to do two things.  The first and foremost drastic amendment is to put an end to betting exchanges, which McGowan says is jeopardizing the integrity of the betting industry in Australia.

Betting exchanges are a sector of sports betting that allows punters to post their very own bets - both for and against certain events.  Therefore, punters can essentially post their own odds on any sporting event that has been approved ahead of time.  Other punters can then bet in favor of or against the bet, which is exactly why McGowan says betting exchanges are dangerous.  An explanatory memorandum for the amendment states that betting exchanges create a temptation for those participating in or who are closely connected to the sporting events to "throw" the event and purposefully lose in order to benefit from exchange bets predicting the a loss for that event.

The bill not only makes it illegal to offer exchange bets, but also makes the act of placing an exchange bet punishable by law.  Any punter who is caught placing an exchange bet could be fined up to $10,000 and/or given a prison sentence of two years.  Those who operate betting exchanges will also be subject to the same punishment.  Bill 146 would serve as an amendment to the Betting Control Act of 1954, and the Racing and Wagering Western Australia Act of 2003.

The second part of the amendment calls for a betting system much like that which the state of Victoria recently passed, which specifically limits the use of publication of Western Australia race fields to only those betting operators who have been given prior approval by the Minister of Racing and Gaming.  Those operators who do not have permission to use race fields would need to apply to the Gaming Ministry, after which they would be subjected to a "public interest test" to determine the operators integrity and credibility.  Both parts of the bill are expected to be passed (in two phases) before the end of 2006.  As for online casino sites and online betting exchanges, there is only one government regulated online casino and betting site (Lasseters), which has not previously offering online exchange betting, nor will it in the future.