The Victorian Commission of Gambling & Liquor Regulation is investigating Tennis Australia after accusations it "contravened anti-corruption protocol" and that it "has not done enough to prevent match fixing," according to Nino Bucci of THE AGE. An eight-month investigation is "in its final stages," and will determine whether Tennis Australia is "fit to continue as a sports controlling body." If Tennis Australia is stripped of its authorization, it would "lose its cut of profits from bets made on Australian tennis as well as the right to sign sponsorship agreements with wagering companies," combined income "potentially worth tens of millions of dollars." The investigation began after former Brumby Government Gaming Minister Tony Robinson complained to the commission in May after information that arose from a match-fixing case involving former Australian Open boys champion Oliver Anderson (THE AGE, 1/24).
COMPROMISING STABILITY: In London, Mark Souster reported cutting the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals to £2 ($2.80) per spin "would have unintended consequences for British racing and the wider rural economy," the British Horseracing Authority said on Monday. The BHA believes the £2 figure is too low and could "severely compromise the sport's financial stability." It is "unusual for the BHA to weigh in so strongly on an issue and it has bided its time in doing so." But gambling revenues are the "lifeblood of the sport" and the authority "obviously believes there will be serious knock-on consequences for retail bookmakers and thus racing" (LONDON TIMES, 1/23). Also in London, Dominic Walsh reported bookmakers are "weighing up the possibility of legal action against the government" after suggestions that ministers have decided to cut the maximum stakes on FOBTs from £100 ($140) to £2. The reports "spooked investors," who had been forecasting a cut in the maximum stake to £20 ($28). Almost £800M ($1.12B) was "wiped off the value of the quoted betting groups," with William Hill and Ladbrokes Coral losing £336M ($470M) and £277M ($387.5M), respectively (LONDON TIMES, 1/23).
