SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Speaking to Australia’s Herald Sun, Tom Waterhouse William Hill Australia’s Chief Executive has publicly defended the operators ‘Click to Call’ feature that is currently being investigated by Federal Police.
Whilst Australian market competitor Ladbrokes announced that it withdrew the feature in July. William Hill has stood by its product, claiming that it functions fall under the parameters of the nation’s 2001 Interactive Gambling Act.
William Hill firmly believes that ‘Click to Call’ is an extension of telephone betting permitted by the act. Standing its ground on the matter, William Hill announced that it had launched an online campaign promoting the feature.
Tom Waterhouse a recognised figure in Australian sports betting and the man charged with leading William Hill’s Australia market operations stated that he was confident that “Click to Call” did not breach betting regulations
Speaking to the Herald Sun, Waterhouse commented “We’re 100 per cent confident the product is legal. Obviously there has been a complaint about the product in terms of whether it is legal,” he said.
“In terms of the television stations we came to the agreement we will wait to show in-play betting ads until the AFP has come back on it.”
The polemic surrounding “Click to Call” betting features, has caused Australian ministers and industry stakeholders to call for a review the nations interactive gambling act. Numerous commentators have claimed that the act’s framework and policies are no longer viable in governing betting amid changing market and technology conditions.
