Fed: Net gambling ban would increase problem gambling Newsbet

AAP General News (Australia)
04-25-2000
Fed: Net gambling ban would increase problem gambling Newsbet

CANBERRA, April 25 AAP - Problem gambling would increase if the federal government
banned Australian Internet gaming licenses, gambling company Newsbet said today.

By preventing such access, the government would simply force gamblers to deal with
offshore sites, Newsbet director Hugo Stephenson said.

"People could log-in to these sites and gamble away their life savings with someone
on the other side of the world who couldn't care less," he said in a statement.

Newsbet is an Internet gambling site specialising in betting on news events and current affairs.

Family and Community Services Minister Jocelyn Newman on Sunday said the federal government
had suggested a moratorium on Internet gambling to the states, who benefit greatly from
gaming revenues.

Dr Stephenson said Newsbet was in favour of strong regulation on Internet gambling.

"The future of gaming is on the Internet and, through effective regulatory procedures,
Australia can continue leading the way."

He said the Newsbet site would have a range of restrictions that limited how much players
could bet at a time and how much they could bet each month.

Its technology even monitored player behaviour to flag playing patterns that may indicate
problem gambling.

While some people had asserted there was too much gaming in Australia, it was no excuse
to ban the only form of gambling that could offer such sophisticated player protection,
Dr Stephenson said.

AAP dep/adh

KEYWORD: GAMBLING (CARRIED EARLIER)

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