Australian authorities refer live betting investigation to Interpol

‘The Australian’ newspaper has claimed that bet35 and Ladbrokes Australia’s ‘click-call’ live betting features will be investigated by international police organisation Interpol.

The Australian Federal Police, who were asked to investigate the bookmakers ‘click-call’ betting features by the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA), have referred the investigation to Interpol, as the operators’ Australian websites are hosted remotely. Meanwhile William Hill is being looked at by the Police as the company’s site is hosted locally.

Australian authorities are investigating complaints that the British bookmakers have breached the laws of the 2001 Gambling Act, which prohibits live betting services for most plaforms, although does allow it for phone betting. The controversial feature used by bet35, Ladbrokes and William Hill mirrors live betting functions by allowing customers to connect to live market teams through their device’s microphone.

UK bookmakers have stated that the mechanism falls within the 2001 Gambling Act as phone betting is allowed within its provisions, furthermore the wagers placed are only processed by the live market teams if the customer approves his selection.

The referred investigation to Interpol comes as Ladbrokes Australia announced that it had withdrawn its ‘QuickCall’ (click call) feature. The bookmaker has cancelled all advertising of the product and has withdrawn all digital inventory referring to the service.