Financial Review – Sportsbet chief executive Cormac Barry says the $591 million bet on cricket’s Big Bash League at rival Betfair shows legislation controlling online wagering puts local companies at a disadvantage and the integrity of sports at risk.

The online betting exchange Betfair has released figures on the first 23 matches of Cricket Australia’s Big Bash League that show local and international punters have bet on average $28 million per match so far this summer. In contrast, Betfair customers punted just under $6 million on the 2013 Melbourne Cup.

Betfair spokesman Daniel Bevan said the rise in popularity of betting on the summer league of Twenty20 cricket was being driven by “in play” betting, which allows punters to bet on the outcome of a game after it has started.

In Australia, the Interactive Gambling Act makes it illegal for punters to make online bets on the winner once play has commenced. However, local customers can make these “in play” bets via telephone.

Betfair is an international platform. A large majority of “in play” bets on BBL are coming from its overseas customers, Mr Bevan said.

A spokesman for Sportsbet, which is owned by Irish wagering giant Paddy Power, said betting on BBL was growing, but it was still small compared to other sports like football.

Mr Barry said Sportsbet offers “in play” betting to local customers via its telephone service but chooses not to take international bets “because Paddy Power only operates in regulated countries”.

“[This] once again shows the Interactive Gambling Act does nothing to control Australian betting on sport and only serves to put licensed Australian wagering operators at a competitive disadvantage,” he said.

A review of the Act in March 2013 recommended removing the discrepancy that allowed “in play” betting on the outcome of a game via telephone but not online. But this recommendation was not acted on.

The former communications minister in the Gillard-led government, Stephen Conroy, said the government would not pursue recommendations in the review until the states and territories committed to national standards for harm minimisation and consumer protection.

Betfair’s Mr Bevan dismissed claims that large amounts bet via Betfair on the BBL games enhanced the risk of corruption.

“We’re giving [Cricket Australia] another weapon for integrity and transparency because they have access to every trade for Australian and international punters,” he said.

“Through onshore regulated operators like Betfair, those of us who play by the rules, we’re delivering a financial return to Cricket Australia.”

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