Another milestone in the Betfair Australia story was reached today as the company announced an in-principle agreement with the Tasmanian Government to keep its operations there for a further 10 years.
“Today's announcement is an important step towards providing long-term certainty for Betfair in Australia and its Tasmanian workforce,” said Betfair Australia's CEO, Andrew Twaits.
“We were under a lot of pressure to prove ourselves as a company here in Australia, and we've well and truly done that. In the last four years, we've helped to reshape the wagering landscape in areas of integrity, harm minimisation and industry funding for racing and sports. Importantly, we've also encouraged a better deal for punters.
“This agreement is a big step forward for the future of racing, not only in Tasmania, but right across Australia. Our contribution to both racing and sports has been significant and we look forward to continuing our commitment right across the country.”
The new agreement is subject to various conditions including approval by the Tasmanian Gaming Commission and legislation being passed by the new parliament to reduce the tax on betting exchanges to 5% of gross revenue.
Betfair Australia commenced operations at its Hobart headquarters in February 2006 after it became the first betting exchange to be licensed in Australia. Today the business employs 135 staff, matches more than 1 million bets a day and has 135,000 Australian and New Zealand customers.
The company has also contributed more than $5m in product fees directly to racing and sports as well as nearly $8m in sponsorships. In Tasmania Betfair has contributed in excess of $20m to the local economy.
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Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Betfair tax breaks - 22nd February 2010
The Tasmanian Government has offered tax breaks to keep the gambling agency Betfair in the state.
Labor has revealed that before it went into caretaker mode, it made an agreement with the company half-owned by James Packer.
The deal would see Betfair keep its call centre and 130 jobs in Hobart for the next 10 years.
The Premier, David Bartlett says the agreement will cost taxpayers about $2 million over the next two years, but he says the deal will save jobs, and quickly pay for itself.
"In the short-term, yes there will be a revenue decrease," he says.
"But that revenue decrease will be more than offset by 130 jobs on site, and increased transaction rates, over the life of the next five to 10 years."
The agreement will not be formally approved until parliament returns after the March 20 state election.
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Labor has revealed that before it went into caretaker mode, it made an agreement with the company half-owned by James Packer.
The deal would see Betfair keep its call centre and 130 jobs in Hobart for the next 10 years.
The Premier, David Bartlett says the agreement will cost taxpayers about $2 million over the next two years, but he says the deal will save jobs, and quickly pay for itself.
"In the short-term, yes there will be a revenue decrease," he says.
"But that revenue decrease will be more than offset by 130 jobs on site, and increased transaction rates, over the life of the next five to 10 years."
The agreement will not be formally approved until parliament returns after the March 20 state election.
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Monday, February 22, 2010
Australian Gambling: James Packer Vows to Help Jobless, by Greg Tingle - 22nd February 2010
Australian casino king and major media player, James Packer, has vowed to help ease plight of Australia's jobless.
Entitled the Australian Employment Covenant, the Rudd government-backed initiative aims to find 50,000 jobs for indigenous Australians. As the project rolls out Australia will get to know it as Generation One.
In an extremely rare interview, Linda Silmalis of News Limited's The Sunday Telegraph was able to secure a telephone interview with Mr Packer.
The casino comeback king wouldn't be pushed on politics (recently enjoying a spot of golf with Sen. Stephen Conroy might do that to a man), but he opened right up when it came to social and community matters, with a focus on getting Indigenous Australians sustainable employment.
The Packer empire includes Australia's Crown Casino, Burswood Entertainment Centre, City Of Dreams, Macau and Altira Macau. Mr Packer also has a share in pay TV operator, Foxtel.
Crown Casino is strongly indicating it will employ a significant number of indigenous Australian and Team Packer is also communicating with corporate Australia on how they can be part of this historic project.
Packer is collaborating with Aussie mining king Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest. A bush tucker bag of other great Aussie's are also assisting including but not limited to News Limited chairman Rupert Murdoch, Seven Network boss Kerry Stokes, and of course wife, Erica Baxter. Murdoch did some historic campaigning for Indigenous Australia whilst editor of Adelaide's The News circa 1959, later being showcased in modern classic, 'Black and White'.
There's considerable resources at hand, and by Packer speak, this is a hand up, not a hand out. However, to kick-start things Kerry Stokes and Packer are both putting in $2 million for a start.
In the telephone interview with Linda Silmalis of The Sunday Telegraph, "Kerry and I are each putting in $2 million to the project and we're doing it because we believe in Andrew's vision.
"It is not another welfare program. Both the Covenant and Generation One are about getting actual outcomes. We have actually got some bona fides in this area - Crown is already up to 75 jobs. We want to get it up into the hundreds.
"The goal is to work with people in businesses to try to get training and job placements.
"When someone gets training within a specific business, it makes it far more likely they will get a home in that business."
"I think with anyone, when they have a child, it opens up a new dimension to your life".
"I got to spend a year in the Northern Territory as a jackeroo and that gave me exposure to the way some Aboriginal communities are that others never get.
"I got to see good things and some not so good things. I always had a desire to do something, but I needed the right opportunity, and Andrew's vision and infectious enthusiasm made it easy for me to become involved.
"Andrew and I went to see Kerry Stokes, and we said, 'We'd love you to do this with us', and he agreed.
"At the casino, we are training people in hospitality, in security, areas where it will lead to jobs. I think corporate Australia wants to do more and it will become easier as more people become involved.
"It is a good concept and I think it will become easier as time goes on."
Media Man applauds the Packer - Forrest and friends collaboration that clearly demonstrates a far reaching way of demonstrating one's real wealth. We are also hopeful that both the Labor and Liberal party pick up on some of Mr Packer's wisdom when it comes to matters such as the internet and censorship. Mr Packer famously said "Internet is like electricity", something Media Man and Gambling911 management and readers are well aware of, as is Senator Conroy. As of this writing Sen Conroy has remained silent on mentions of himself in comparisons with award winning documentary, 'Casino Jack and the United States of Money'.
On a lighter note Sen. Conroy has turned out to be quite the sportsman, not only a keen golfer, but a passionate snowboarder, even getting a trip away to enjoy the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Let's just hope that Conroy's recent collaborations with Team Packer and friends help produce some gold for many parties, starting with both indigenous Australia and internet gaming fans and entrepreneurs. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. http://www.mediamanint.com
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Entitled the Australian Employment Covenant, the Rudd government-backed initiative aims to find 50,000 jobs for indigenous Australians. As the project rolls out Australia will get to know it as Generation One.
In an extremely rare interview, Linda Silmalis of News Limited's The Sunday Telegraph was able to secure a telephone interview with Mr Packer.
The casino comeback king wouldn't be pushed on politics (recently enjoying a spot of golf with Sen. Stephen Conroy might do that to a man), but he opened right up when it came to social and community matters, with a focus on getting Indigenous Australians sustainable employment.
The Packer empire includes Australia's Crown Casino, Burswood Entertainment Centre, City Of Dreams, Macau and Altira Macau. Mr Packer also has a share in pay TV operator, Foxtel.
Crown Casino is strongly indicating it will employ a significant number of indigenous Australian and Team Packer is also communicating with corporate Australia on how they can be part of this historic project.
Packer is collaborating with Aussie mining king Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest. A bush tucker bag of other great Aussie's are also assisting including but not limited to News Limited chairman Rupert Murdoch, Seven Network boss Kerry Stokes, and of course wife, Erica Baxter. Murdoch did some historic campaigning for Indigenous Australia whilst editor of Adelaide's The News circa 1959, later being showcased in modern classic, 'Black and White'.
There's considerable resources at hand, and by Packer speak, this is a hand up, not a hand out. However, to kick-start things Kerry Stokes and Packer are both putting in $2 million for a start.
In the telephone interview with Linda Silmalis of The Sunday Telegraph, "Kerry and I are each putting in $2 million to the project and we're doing it because we believe in Andrew's vision.
"It is not another welfare program. Both the Covenant and Generation One are about getting actual outcomes. We have actually got some bona fides in this area - Crown is already up to 75 jobs. We want to get it up into the hundreds.
"The goal is to work with people in businesses to try to get training and job placements.
"When someone gets training within a specific business, it makes it far more likely they will get a home in that business."
"I think with anyone, when they have a child, it opens up a new dimension to your life".
"I got to spend a year in the Northern Territory as a jackeroo and that gave me exposure to the way some Aboriginal communities are that others never get.
"I got to see good things and some not so good things. I always had a desire to do something, but I needed the right opportunity, and Andrew's vision and infectious enthusiasm made it easy for me to become involved.
"Andrew and I went to see Kerry Stokes, and we said, 'We'd love you to do this with us', and he agreed.
"At the casino, we are training people in hospitality, in security, areas where it will lead to jobs. I think corporate Australia wants to do more and it will become easier as more people become involved.
"It is a good concept and I think it will become easier as time goes on."
Media Man applauds the Packer - Forrest and friends collaboration that clearly demonstrates a far reaching way of demonstrating one's real wealth. We are also hopeful that both the Labor and Liberal party pick up on some of Mr Packer's wisdom when it comes to matters such as the internet and censorship. Mr Packer famously said "Internet is like electricity", something Media Man and Gambling911 management and readers are well aware of, as is Senator Conroy. As of this writing Sen Conroy has remained silent on mentions of himself in comparisons with award winning documentary, 'Casino Jack and the United States of Money'.
On a lighter note Sen. Conroy has turned out to be quite the sportsman, not only a keen golfer, but a passionate snowboarder, even getting a trip away to enjoy the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Let's just hope that Conroy's recent collaborations with Team Packer and friends help produce some gold for many parties, starting with both indigenous Australia and internet gaming fans and entrepreneurs. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*The writer owns shares in Crown Limited
*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. http://www.mediamanint.com
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Monday, February 15, 2010
Cyber attacks against Australia 'will continue' - 12th February 2010
An activist group that temporarily blocked access to key Australian government websites plans to continue its cyber attacks, the BBC has learned.
The group, known as Anonymous, was protesting against the Australian government's proposals to apply filters to the internet in the country.
A man claiming to be a representative of the group said that around 500 people were involved in the attack.
The method they are using is known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS).
DDoS is illegal in many countries including the United Kingdom. There is no indication that the attack was carried out from within Britain. DDoS attacks typically call on machines in many different nations, making them hard to trace.
The sites were intermittently blocked on 10 and 11 February. The action has been condemned by various bodies including the Systems Administrators Guild of Australia (SAGE-AU) and Electronic Frontiers Australia.
"All it takes is a few people to basically send junk traffic to their websites which is causing them to be offline," the man, calling himself Coldblood, told BBC News.
"The people who are currently attacking (the government websites) are planning to keep doing it. It will probably keep happening until either they get bored or it gets sorted out."
The sites are currently back online but the domains of individual politicians, including that of Stephen Conroy (minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy), were among those targeted.
Web filters
Anonymous is protesting against Australia's plan to apply a country-wide filter to block certain content in 2011.
The Australian government has said that trials have shown the filtering technology to be 100% effective in preventing access to designated sites.
The banned sites would be selected by an independent classifications body guided by public complaints, Senator Conroy has said.
He said the aim of the filter is to make the internet a safer place for Australian children.
Speaking to the BBC, Coldblood said that the activists did not support the creation of illegal content but that banning it would not tackle the issue.
"If something is illegal which is done on the internet the government should try and prosecute them," he said.
"If they ban it it will just appear somewhere again. What they really need to do is go after the people who are making this content."
The group consists of "a few thousand people" based all over the world Coldblood said.
They staged cyber attacks on Iran following the election protests and have publicly protested against the Scientology movement.
This was sparked after the Church of Scientology requested the removal of a clip from YouTube featuring Hollywood actor Tom Cruise.
"One of our main missions is against censorship on the internet," said Coldblood.
The group had not had any direct contact with the Australian government, he added.
SAGE-AU said the attack was "the wrong way to express disagreement with the proposed law."
"The impact of DOS attacks is frequently felt less by government agencies than by system administrators, many of them SAGE-AU members, who are responsible for managing websites and servers," continues a statement on its website.
YouTube in Australia
Senator Conroy has also contacted Google requesting that the company begins to filter YouTube content in the country.
Google says that while it complies with the laws of the individual countries in which it has a presence, it would only investigate and consider removing content after receiving a "valid legal request" about something already posted on the site.
"We first check that the request meets both the letter and spirit of the law, and we will seek to narrow it if the request is overly broad," said a spokesperson.
"YouTube is a platform for free expression. We have clear policies about what is allowed and not allowed on the site." (Credit: BBC)
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The group, known as Anonymous, was protesting against the Australian government's proposals to apply filters to the internet in the country.
A man claiming to be a representative of the group said that around 500 people were involved in the attack.
The method they are using is known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS).
DDoS is illegal in many countries including the United Kingdom. There is no indication that the attack was carried out from within Britain. DDoS attacks typically call on machines in many different nations, making them hard to trace.
The sites were intermittently blocked on 10 and 11 February. The action has been condemned by various bodies including the Systems Administrators Guild of Australia (SAGE-AU) and Electronic Frontiers Australia.
"All it takes is a few people to basically send junk traffic to their websites which is causing them to be offline," the man, calling himself Coldblood, told BBC News.
"The people who are currently attacking (the government websites) are planning to keep doing it. It will probably keep happening until either they get bored or it gets sorted out."
The sites are currently back online but the domains of individual politicians, including that of Stephen Conroy (minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy), were among those targeted.
Web filters
Anonymous is protesting against Australia's plan to apply a country-wide filter to block certain content in 2011.
The Australian government has said that trials have shown the filtering technology to be 100% effective in preventing access to designated sites.
The banned sites would be selected by an independent classifications body guided by public complaints, Senator Conroy has said.
He said the aim of the filter is to make the internet a safer place for Australian children.
Speaking to the BBC, Coldblood said that the activists did not support the creation of illegal content but that banning it would not tackle the issue.
"If something is illegal which is done on the internet the government should try and prosecute them," he said.
"If they ban it it will just appear somewhere again. What they really need to do is go after the people who are making this content."
The group consists of "a few thousand people" based all over the world Coldblood said.
They staged cyber attacks on Iran following the election protests and have publicly protested against the Scientology movement.
This was sparked after the Church of Scientology requested the removal of a clip from YouTube featuring Hollywood actor Tom Cruise.
"One of our main missions is against censorship on the internet," said Coldblood.
The group had not had any direct contact with the Australian government, he added.
SAGE-AU said the attack was "the wrong way to express disagreement with the proposed law."
"The impact of DOS attacks is frequently felt less by government agencies than by system administrators, many of them SAGE-AU members, who are responsible for managing websites and servers," continues a statement on its website.
YouTube in Australia
Senator Conroy has also contacted Google requesting that the company begins to filter YouTube content in the country.
Google says that while it complies with the laws of the individual countries in which it has a presence, it would only investigate and consider removing content after receiving a "valid legal request" about something already posted on the site.
"We first check that the request meets both the letter and spirit of the law, and we will seek to narrow it if the request is overly broad," said a spokesperson.
"YouTube is a platform for free expression. We have clear policies about what is allowed and not allowed on the site." (Credit: BBC)
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Sunday, February 14, 2010
Minister in 'secret' snow meeting with mogul - Sunday Herald Sun - 13 February 2010
Minister meets billionaire Kerry Stokes in the USA
Stokes owns Channel 7
Later announced huge benefits for networks
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy held a secret meeting and went snow-skiing with Seven's billionaire owner Kerry Stokes at a ritzy American resort only weeks before handing over a $250 million gift to Australia's free-to-air TV networks.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal that Senator Conroy - a skiing and snowboarding fanatic - met Mr Stokes in Vail, Colorado, in January, while the Government was considering pleas from the free-to-air industry to cut their licence fees.
*Read the article here
Stokes owns Channel 7
Later announced huge benefits for networks
COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy held a secret meeting and went snow-skiing with Seven's billionaire owner Kerry Stokes at a ritzy American resort only weeks before handing over a $250 million gift to Australia's free-to-air TV networks.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal that Senator Conroy - a skiing and snowboarding fanatic - met Mr Stokes in Vail, Colorado, in January, while the Government was considering pleas from the free-to-air industry to cut their licence fees.
*Read the article here
Friday, February 12, 2010
Australia Internet Censorship Issue at Breaking Point, by Greg Tingle - 11th February 2010
Special contributor to the Gambling911.com website, Greg Tingle, looks at the continuing uproar over censorship attempts in Australia as they apply to the Internet and ultimately online gambling websites, some of which appeared on a much publicized "black list" some months ago.
Was it Hollywood's Elvira who said "All is fair in love and war"? Whatever the case that seems to be the mindset of "Anonymous" who is blasting Australian government websites in protest to the proposed Australian Internet filter also with its bastard cousin, the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) "blacklist".
Welcome "Operational Titstorm".
It's fair to say that some Aussies are bloody pissed off that their endless stream of "vice" such as porn, gaming and other "questionable material" may be cut off thank to the intenet filter cum post Australian election time.
As we know know too well, often when a a government tries to smother and cover up a news story the story becomes bigger. This is a classic example. It's now a red hot international news item and the more Senator Stephen Conroy and his team try to smother it, the more fuel gets added to the fire! The news story is up there with China's "Great Wall Of China" censorship matters, along with human rights, freedom of information, freedom of speech, Hillary Clinton and friends.
One needs little imagination to see that some parallels can be drawn to what will happen in Australian when certain things become illegal... they will go underground, likely get more popular and sought after, however some consumer protection will be lost.
In the igaming industry I would recommend that people stick to brands they know and trust, be it PartyGaming, BetUS, Betfair, Virgin Games and I understand that both Playtech and Microgaming powered online casinos currently have a clean bill of health.
If you're an Aussie reading this, my "spies" tell me that in approx 6 months Australians won't be able to access popular porn sites RedTube and YouPorn (unless they have some sort of whiz bang anti censorship - anti filter device)... something that could well end up on the black market (i.e: pubs and clubs, "mates rates" and items that "fell off the back of a truck"). Over a decade ago when pay TV was introduced to Australians one used to be able to purchase a device to plug into the standard pay TV equipment and get pay TV for free! This allowed consumers to get more variety of channels, unscrambled (and for free)... things could very well end up going in a similar direction for Australian internet users based on recent developments.
News just in... The Australian government is trying to pursue Google to voluntarily censor YouTube videos in Australia. Google have refused the government's request thus far.
Media Man thanks and praises American and Canadian news media and igaming media news websites for bringing the news to the people and we applaud Gambling911 in their fearless commitment to educating and informing the masses on internet censorship and other important matters pertaining to the igaming, betting and political arena.
Australian government spooks and contractors are trying to get the defaced websites back on the air as of the time of writing.
Greg Tingle, Media Man International
http://www.mediamanint.com
Was it Hollywood's Elvira who said "All is fair in love and war"? Whatever the case that seems to be the mindset of "Anonymous" who is blasting Australian government websites in protest to the proposed Australian Internet filter also with its bastard cousin, the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) "blacklist".
Welcome "Operational Titstorm".
It's fair to say that some Aussies are bloody pissed off that their endless stream of "vice" such as porn, gaming and other "questionable material" may be cut off thank to the intenet filter cum post Australian election time.
As we know know too well, often when a a government tries to smother and cover up a news story the story becomes bigger. This is a classic example. It's now a red hot international news item and the more Senator Stephen Conroy and his team try to smother it, the more fuel gets added to the fire! The news story is up there with China's "Great Wall Of China" censorship matters, along with human rights, freedom of information, freedom of speech, Hillary Clinton and friends.
One needs little imagination to see that some parallels can be drawn to what will happen in Australian when certain things become illegal... they will go underground, likely get more popular and sought after, however some consumer protection will be lost.
In the igaming industry I would recommend that people stick to brands they know and trust, be it PartyGaming, BetUS, Betfair, Virgin Games and I understand that both Playtech and Microgaming powered online casinos currently have a clean bill of health.
If you're an Aussie reading this, my "spies" tell me that in approx 6 months Australians won't be able to access popular porn sites RedTube and YouPorn (unless they have some sort of whiz bang anti censorship - anti filter device)... something that could well end up on the black market (i.e: pubs and clubs, "mates rates" and items that "fell off the back of a truck"). Over a decade ago when pay TV was introduced to Australians one used to be able to purchase a device to plug into the standard pay TV equipment and get pay TV for free! This allowed consumers to get more variety of channels, unscrambled (and for free)... things could very well end up going in a similar direction for Australian internet users based on recent developments.
News just in... The Australian government is trying to pursue Google to voluntarily censor YouTube videos in Australia. Google have refused the government's request thus far.
Media Man thanks and praises American and Canadian news media and igaming media news websites for bringing the news to the people and we applaud Gambling911 in their fearless commitment to educating and informing the masses on internet censorship and other important matters pertaining to the igaming, betting and political arena.
Australian government spooks and contractors are trying to get the defaced websites back on the air as of the time of writing.
Greg Tingle, Media Man International
http://www.mediamanint.com
Sunday, February 07, 2010
WWE News: Fox News - Linda McMahon's Senate opponent trying to use the "Eugene" character against McMahon
Fox News picked up the story of former WWE CEO Linda McMahon's Republican opponent in the Connecticut Senate race looking to use WWE's "Eugene" character against McMahon.
Rob Simmons, who is running against McMahon for the Republican nomination, is trying to draw attention to WWE's use of the "mentally retarded" Eugene character while media attention is on U.S. president Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, for recently using the word "retards" in a derogatory manner.
Simmons says he wants McMahon to account for the storyline where "Eugene" was destroyed by Triple H in a steel cage match in September 2004.
At the time, WWE defended the character by saying he was designed to be a "hero" encouraging "other people with disabilities to strive to achieve their dreams."
Caldwell's Analysis: Simmons can chase this angle all he wants by looking through the history of racist, sexist, jingoistic, homophobic, and insensitive characters that have come through the WWE pipeline to find some sort of "negative visual" for the general public to attach to McMahon, but this is maybe #5 on important issues McMahon needs to be held accountable for from her time as WWE CEO. #1 is the record of occupational health issues in WWE and pro wrestling with an industry-wide epidemic of wrestlers dying young, steroid abuse, pain pill addiction, independent contractor status when wrestlers are treated like employees, no formal regulatory body protecting wrestlers, and no regularly-scheduled off-season. (Credit: Pro Wrestling Torch)
Rob Simmons, who is running against McMahon for the Republican nomination, is trying to draw attention to WWE's use of the "mentally retarded" Eugene character while media attention is on U.S. president Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, for recently using the word "retards" in a derogatory manner.
Simmons says he wants McMahon to account for the storyline where "Eugene" was destroyed by Triple H in a steel cage match in September 2004.
At the time, WWE defended the character by saying he was designed to be a "hero" encouraging "other people with disabilities to strive to achieve their dreams."
Caldwell's Analysis: Simmons can chase this angle all he wants by looking through the history of racist, sexist, jingoistic, homophobic, and insensitive characters that have come through the WWE pipeline to find some sort of "negative visual" for the general public to attach to McMahon, but this is maybe #5 on important issues McMahon needs to be held accountable for from her time as WWE CEO. #1 is the record of occupational health issues in WWE and pro wrestling with an industry-wide epidemic of wrestlers dying young, steroid abuse, pain pill addiction, independent contractor status when wrestlers are treated like employees, no formal regulatory body protecting wrestlers, and no regularly-scheduled off-season. (Credit: Pro Wrestling Torch)
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