It seems that sports betting is everywhere nowadays. It’s hard to resist the lures of sports betting – you can see them everywhere professional sport is played.
Bookmakers came up with a new approach to advertising in แทงบอลออนไลน์, agreeing not to promote odds during the relevant games. This was done in response to the public outcry sparked by Tom Waterhouse’s relentless ad-driven campaign making his online bookmaking business a target for takeover. The government threatened to intervene.
However, since then, the number ads has risen dramatically. It seems that the losses have also increased.
It’s a growing industry and sports football betting is already very popular. The biggest game in town is still poker-machine, and it’s by a wide margin. As the bookies point out, A$11 billion is lost annually by Australians to pokies every year.
Based on trends from 2012-13 to 2015-16, I believe that the sports betting punters will be losing around $750 million. The poker-machine revenue has increased too, but not nearly the 16% increase in sports football betting over that time period. This is because it is adjusted for inflation. The real increase in poker-machine spending in Victoria was about 1% last year after adjusting for inflation by 2.7% nominal revenue growth.
However, just because the market for sports betting is smaller than poker machines does not mean that it isn’t a problem. Australia is home to 20% of the world’s poker machines. This is why we are the largest gamblers in the world. Around 75% of all problems can be attributed to poker machines. However, it appears that interactive is causing more harm than revenue growth.
The Problem’s Scale
These problems are most prevalent in young men. This burgeoning locus is likely to be a result of the rapid growth of mobile and online technology. Accessibility is, as with other explosives, a key determinant and subsequent cause of harm.
The internet accessibility is an important element in the growth of the sports betting scene. It also defines the nature of its target market and growth. This is not to mention the possibility of constant utilisation. Because poker machines are ubiquitous and in continuous operation, they can be dangerous. The same danger exists online, especially mobile.
This business is in the crosshairs of young, internet-savvy people who are interested in sports. This group can be expected to cause a tsunami of problems in the coming years.
In recent years, the online bookmaking market has seen a lot of change. Ladbrokes and William Hill, two large British bookies, have taken over existing businesses, including Tom Waterhouse’s, and are now able to claim significant market share. They are global giants who will do whatever it takes to grow their businesses.
Advertising investments are a key factor in the growth of TV broadcast rights. This is a welcome development for some sports organizations and executives in television. As with cigarette advertising growth seems to be linked with constant advertising and marketing activities. The bookies love to push the limits.
Interactive betting on outcomes is banned in Australia. However, some bookies have found a way to make it work by asking their customers to turn on their microphones during a football betting session. This creates a voice connection similar to a telephone call. The bookmakers claim that this is legal because you can bet in-game via phone – even though nobody speaks.
Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) published a new report, Duds, Mugs and the A-List, on Monday. It highlights the various other tactics used by betting agencies to lure punters into spending. This is serious stuff. This material was also covered by ABC’s Background Briefing last weekend. It highlighted the industry’s practices within the context of its desire to grow rapidly.
FCA’s report title refers to the industry terminology for customers. Duds and muggers are people who gamble only a little. They can get very limited credit. The A-list is self-explanatory, while the B-list is more complicated. They will advance you if your grade is higher. However, no category is immune to a ruthless collection system.
Because it is legal under current law to give you unrequested พนันบอลออนไลน์, the bookies need debt collectors. This practice isn’t covered by financial regulations because interest isn’t charged. It is also not prohibited by the Interactive Act.
Bookmakers may also share customer data – in contravention of privacy legislation – and use this information to create new accounts to lure customers who might have stopped betting on football with another company. They also refer customers to payday lenders in order to meet their “obligations”.
Minimising Harm
What are the best ways to minimize harm, without banning betting on sports football? It’s easy to adopt a preventive public-health strategy for this problem if you don’t want to ban sports football betting.
There are a few low-hanging fruits. First, ads (and alcohol) are currently not allowed on TV after 8.30pm, unless they’re broadcast on a sports broadcast. It would not be difficult to implement this ban quickly and effectively. Although the intention of the ban was to prevent children from being exposed to such advertisements, the exemption completely negates that goal.
It would also be beneficial for the federal government to prohibit credit football betting.
The Productivity Commission also made ambitious recommendations to reduce the harm caused by poker machines. These two recommendations could be applied for sports football betting.
Pre-commitment systems were the first. This technological intervention requires that all users nominate a maximum amount of time they will commit to each day, week, or month. They must also adhere to this limit regardless of which platform they use. This system is immediately applicable to both online and mobile because of its nature. These should be maintained for a specific period of time once they have been established.
