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Betfair, the world's biggest betting exchange, officially launched its Australian and New Zealand operations on Wednesday this week. The official launching which took place in Hobart was attended by Paul Lennon, the Tasmanian Premier and James Packer, chief executive with PBL which jointly owns the company along with Betfair UK.
Betfair has been taking Aussie and Kiwi bets since February 7 but only started processing bets through its new Tasmanian exchange some six weeks ago after the roll-out of $10 million in infrastructure. Almost one million bets are now being placed every week through the website Betfair.com.au and processed through Hobart.
Betfair corporate and business affairs director Andrew Twaits stated, “In six weeks we've had 100 percent up-time. We're now processing more bets today than transactions on the Australian stock exchange.”
Twaits said, “Many of our staunchest opponents in the early days are now embracing Betfair and working with us, which is really encouraging. It's an important fact that 30 percent of the punters who bet on Australian racing are from overseas, so we actually think we are bringing new money in to the racing industry here.”
Betfair's move into Hobart created 75 jobs but the workforce is set to increase to 150 in another year. The establishment of Betfair in Australia was controversial, with the established betting agencies and many in the racing industry opposing the move. The Tasmanian Government went against the advice of other Labor party states by granting Betfair the license it needed to operate.
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