Betfair.com

"Betfair has been a revolution for punters. We've already turned the British wagering market on its head and that's exactly what we intend to do here in Australia and across the region" -
Andrew Twaits, CEO Betfair Australasia.

Betfair is the world's largest betting exchange. It offers fixed odds betting, much like a bookmaker, but our customers set their own odds and effectively bet against each other. Betfair acts as the counter-party to every transaction. Punters on our site can only bet with money they have in their account. Betfair operates in a number of countries. We have more than 2.5 million customers worldwide, 80,000 of whom are in Australia and New Zealand. Betfair's Australian operations are regulated by the Tasmanian Gaming Commission under the Gaming Control Act (Tas) 1993.

Offering value, fairness and transparency to customers

A betting exchange operates in a similar way to a stock exchange. Using sophisticated technology, Betfair administers markets where punters effectively bet against each other. For each transaction one punter is required to 'back' a result and another is required to oppose that outcome by placing a 'lay' bet. Punters are not aware of the identity of their opponents, but Betfair and its regulators have the capacity to view the transactions of every customer. Betfair's revenue is generated by a commission of between two and five per cent on a punter's net winnings only.

The betting exchange model offers participants a number of advantages over traditional wagering products such as bookmakers and totalisator operators. Because betting exchanges have lower costs, and carry no transactional risk to the operator, they are able to offer a "lower price" to the customer. This "price of wagering" is sometimes referred to as the "takeout rate" or margin. In the case of Betfair's racing product offerings, this lower price makes racing more competitive with other low-margin forms of gambling such as poker machines, casinos, sports betting and online poker. The end result is that Betfair customers secure odds that are, on average, 20 per cent higher than those offered by competitors.

Protecting the Vulnerable

Betfair takes problem gambling very seriously and is strongly committed to all reasonable measures to reduce the prevalence of harm from gambling addiction. The company considers itself the industry leader on harm minimisation. It's twice been named the Socially Responsible Operator of the Year (2006 and 2007) at the annual eGaming awards in the UK.

We believe it is our responsibility to our customers to ensure that they enjoy their wagering experience on our site, while remaining fully aware of the social and financial harms associated with problem gambling. In order to assist our customers to gamble responsibly, we ensure that all staff who deal directly with customers receive responsible gambling training. Our site features the following initiatives:

• Customer driven deposit and loss limits
• Self-exclusion tools
• Links to the gambling help lines and other help organisations
• Self help and awareness information
• Information and tools to protect underage access
• Access to all betting transactions for the life of an account

Betfair's racing and sports betting markets present publicly available information regarding every event and runner, including a history of the odds, amounts bet, amounts available to bet and so on. The company offers form, statistics and as much information as possible, all under the Betfair umbrella, so that customers can make the most informed choices possible.

Regulation

Betfair welcomes regulation and is committed to paying the appropriate product fees in every market in which it operates. It has signed Memoranda of Understanding with all the major sporting bodies in Australia (listed below), and countless more worldwide. These agreements allow each sport's controllers to gain access to relevant wagering data to help them regulate their sports.

Racing stewards across the country are granted real time access to all bets placed through Betfair. No other wagering operator in Australia can offer this level of transparency.

Sport Governing Body Date Signed
Australian Rules Australian Football League (AFL) 26-Oct-05
Cricket Cricket Australia 30-Apr-04
Golf PGA Tour of Australasia 15-Nov-06
Greyhound Racing Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) 8-Sep-08
Greyhound Racing Greyhound Racing Victoria(GRV) 1-Jan-09
Horse Racing Racing Service Tasmania 5-Jul-06
Horse Racing Racing Victoria Limited (RVL) 7-Jul-06
Horse Racing Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) 4-Apr-08
Horse Racing Harness Racing Queensland 7-Jul-08
Horse Racing Thoroughbred Racing South Australia (TRSA) 30-Jul-08
Horse Racing Racing New South Wales (RNSW) 8-Sep-08
Horse Racing Harness Racing New South Wales (HRNSW) 8-Sep-08
Rugby League National Rugby League (NRL) 22-May-07
Rugby Union Australian Rugby Union (ARU) 4-Apr-08
Soccer Football Federation of Australia (FFA) 10-Sep-07
Tennis Tennis Australia 15-Jan-07

Committment to Sport

We believe that all wagering operators should pay for the product they bet on - including sport.

Betfair has led the industry and voluntarily entered into Product Fee agreements with all of the major professional sporting bodies in Australia including the AFL, NRL, ARU, FFA, Tennis Australia, Cricket Australia and the PGA Tour of Australasia. Through these arrangements, Betfair has agreed to provide the sporting bodies with a percentage of revenue earned from betting on their sports.

Racing

Betfair currently pays taxes and product fees to its home state and product fees to all states which have imposed race fields legislation. Betfair supports the principles behind the new Race Fields funding model provided that the fee being imposed is fair and equitable to all wagering operators It's an arrangement that allows the racing industries in each state to properly reap the rewards of their own products.

Traditionally licensed wagering operators in Australia covered racing throughout the country but only paid product fees and taxes to the States where they are licensed. The funding model originated with the advent of the state-based TABs and was widely referred to as the 'Gentleman's Agreement'. In effect, each jurisdiction permitted wagering operators to accept bets on each other's racing without the requirement to pay product fees. The arrangement existed regardless of the channel through which bets were taken (i.e. retail off-course, retail on-course, telephone or internet).

Betfair has been at the forefront of calls to rid the industry of the Gentleman's Agreement and replace it with a more equitable model that is better placed to sustain racing into the future.