Ladbrokes Australia pulls in-play betting feature

Ladbrokes’ Australian arm pulled its controversial in-play online betting feature Quickcall despite the operator maintaining its legality amid intense media and regulatory scrutiny.

Earlier this year the operator followed in William Hill’s footsteps by launching a product designed to work around the ban, allowing customers to place bets online so long as they are connected to the operator’s call centre via an audio internet connection.

Under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, Australian betting operators are currently prohibited from providing online betting during live sports and can only accept wagers placed over the phone.

Despite the withdrawal, Ladbrokes’ director of media David Williams told eGaming Review this morning the operator was confident Quickcall was not in violation of any laws and hoped to reinstate the product shortly.

“We have withdrawn our in-play product due to the high level of comment it has generated externally in the marketplace,” Williams said.

“We still believe our product is legal and we will look to clearly establish its legality before hopefully reintroducing it,” Williams added.

William Hill Australia’s ‘Click to Call’ was the first product launched in the market designed to negate Australia’s in-play ban, a move which was also followed by bet365 with its betCall feature.

According to The Australian news website, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has recently written to all three operators to inform them they do not believe their in-play services comply with local law.

Meanwhile a number of free-to-air Australian TV stations have also refused to run adverts promoting the products following an intervention from the industry body Free TV Australia.