Some laws can be easy to understand and follow, while others tend to fall into a confusing grey area. Gambling laws in Australia tend to be a combination of the two.
One set of laws that tend to be confusing to Australian residents are those revolving around live betting. In order to understand the laws in question, however, one must first make very clear what exactly live betting involves.
Live Betting Definition in Aastralia
Online sport betting is legal in Australia, which refers to bets placed on any sporting event or race. This includes football betting such as live AFL betting, as well as rugby, cricket, horse racing, grey hound racing, and anything else defined as a sport or racing event.
There are some differences in the specific laws, depending on particular regions, but these differences do not prohibit the act of placing a bet on a sport itself.
The differences tend to rather be around such things as what kind of bonuses online bookmakers may offer.
Two laws that are constant in all areas of Australia are that a bettor must be over the age of 18, and that the bookmaker must obtain reasonable proof of identification from the bettor.
The key here is that the bet must be placed prior to the sport or race starting, in order to be legal.
The moment the game kicks off, or race is underway, the event is then referred to as being live. This takes us into a while new area.
Live sport betting is not legal in Australia. This means that bets may not be placed, as has already been said, once the event is underway.
There has been much controversy about this law, and a number of groups have lobbied to have the restriction dropped.
Many point to Europe, where live sport betting is very popular, and demand to know why the same is not allowed in Australia. Up until present time, however, live sport betting is still restricted in all parts of the country.
Live Sport Betting Punishment Anomaly
One of the most unusual aspects of live sport betting being restricted in Australia is that no punishment of any kind can be taken against an Australian resident for taking part I live sport betting.
The law specifically states that it is the party offering the service, and not the party accepting the service, that is to be punished.
This has created a situation where many Australian residents still participate in live sports betting, with no risk of punishment of any kind.
As such there are many online live sport betting services available in Australia, offered by international online bookmakers and websites.
The parties offering such services either claim that they were not aware of the law, or are out rightly ignoring the law.
Either way, no Australian has ever been punished, at any time, for partaking in online live sport betting.
A number of Australian based online bookmakers and websites continue to pressure the government into dropping, or altering the law into a more relaxed state, but there is no sign that the laws are set to change any time soon.