Another country where Betfair sees a lot of their business is Australia and today one sport’s governing body has put a ban on exotic bets. The National Rugby League (NRL) has moved to protect the sport’s integrity following a damaging spot fixing scandal first exposed last August. As of the next round of games, bettors will no longer be able to bet on the first and last scoring plays of the second half. Punters will also not be able to bet on whether a field goal is kicked in the games.
NRL chief executive David Gallop commented, “We are committed to maintaining the integrity of the game.
“The further bet types stray from the central contest of the match, the more people will be tempted to create those rumours.”
As far as the gaming industry is concerned, Sportingbet boss Michael Sullivan reiterated his fears over the move.
“There’s a real concern when you ban those bet types from licensed operators, all you are doing is forcing the betting underground or to overseas unregulated operations.”
It remains to be seen whether the AFL also adopts a similar policy. After the Ryan Tandy scandal, it’s little surprise that the NRL decided to take this route though