Lottoland Australia urges legal rethink amid NSW probe

Lottoland Australia has again urged the country’s Federal Government to drop legislation banning lottery betting, following revelations of a probe into a Tatts-funded, anti-Lottoland campaign.

The New South Wales Liquor & Gaming regulator has launched an investigation into the Aus$5m (€3.2m/US$3.8m) campaign.

The preliminary probe will focus on allegations of misinformation and whether the campaign breached Tatts’ licence obligations to act honestly.

Paul Newson, liquor, gaming and racing deputy secretary at the regulator, said in a letter obtained by the Australian newspaper: “We will write to you again following our review of your complaint to advise what, if any, further regulatory action Liquor & Gaming NSW may take.”

Luke Brill, chief executive of Lottoland Australia, said these latest revelations prove the blanket ban on lottery betting, which was introduced in March, was “unnecessary and counterproductive.”

Brill, who has previously spoken out over the issue, also said many newsagents were against the new laws and that the legislation would give Tatts a “legislated monopoly on all lottery products in the country”.

“A Tatts monopoly on all lotteries is a terrible outcome for Australian consumers who like the occasional flutter on overseas lottery betting,” Brill said.

“It is also a terrible outcome for newsagents, which will then be at the mercy of a monopoly that has shown it will do whatever it can to stop competition from new entrants such as Lottoland.

“That is why we wrote to lottery regulators asking them to investigate the actions of Tatts in spending Aus$5m on a campaign of misinformation designed to do just one thing: protect its monopoly.”

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