New South Wales approves online racecourse betting

In Australia, the New South Wales Thoroughbred Racing Board has agreed to allow bookmakers to bring laptop computers onto its racecourses for the purposes of betting as long as operators abide by strict terms and conditions.

These stipulations, which must be agreed to by both the racecourse and the operator before any wagering takes place, include a pre-requisite that approved computer and telephone systems must have remote monitoring software installed that the regulator can monitor.

In addition, approved laptops will be subject to an annual monitoring fee while bookmakers must institute a dispute resolution process and establish minimum betting limits with applying financial guarantee levels. Racecourse patrons will only be permitted to view websites and bet with approved operators and any computer must be dedicated only to racing and not used outside of the race meeting or betting auditorium. Patrons will also be forbidden from accessing non-approved websites and sending or receiving e-mails.

However, if a bookmaker meets all of these requirements, it will now be able to offer Internet betting around-the-clock either from a race-day stand, a betting auditorium or from an approved betting office. Bookmakers can apply in two forms with the first allowing them to view websites, transact bets and bet backs via the Internet while a second restricts operators to viewing websites and bet backs only.