Racing Victoria Warns Punters To Stay Away From Unlicensed Bookies

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Nov 3, 2017

Claims online gamblers are being “tempted” by better offers and alleges there are risks in providing their banking and card details

Down in Australia the integrity chief of Racing Victoria, Dayle Brown, has been doing some good old-fashioned scare-mongering to keep the unlicensed hordes of online bookmakers at bay, warning punters that despite the temptation of better offers they should stay clear, and claiming that there are perils associated with giving bank and card details to illegal betting operators.

“Punters electing to be with unapproved offshore wagering operators are not only transacting with a business which is undermining the racing industry by paying no race-field fees, but they risk doing their money cold,” Brown told the Brisbane Times this week.

“In my experience it’s a rarity for anyone to win anything from these bookmakers but they’ll certainly take your money,” he said, going on to advise that there are 411 wagering operators approved to publish Victorian and NSW thoroughbred fields and wager on the sport.

Brown went on to claim that the government is worried about first time punters being “lured” to Asian bookies by longer odds and bonus bets, before going back to scare mode by saying:

“We continually receive information about punters who have bet with unapproved offshore wagering operators and are struggling to get their winnings paid and/or investments returned. Unfortunately for these punters we can’t help them and there’s no government protections available to them either.”

Increased focus on enforcement by federal, provincial and racing authorities is in progress, Brown revealed, advising that the various organisations were working together to identify the size of the risk and how to best address it.

Brian Cullingworth

Infopowa news was a staple of Casinomeister’s news from 2000 until 2019. Brian Cullingworth was the main writer, contributor, and was one of the most knowledgeable persons I have ever known involved in the online casino industry.

We first met in January 2001 at the ICE in London where I observed him going booth to booth interviewing online casino, software, and licensing jurisdiction representatives. Brian was also heavily involved with our forum as “Jetset“, he was involved as an informal consultant to eCOGRA, the OPA, and was a player advocate who assisted countless aggrieved players with his connections to industry folks. He also published “Casino Cautions” via Infopowa news for quite a number of years. These can be found in our news archives.

His passing in February 2019 was a dark day for us. He will be forever missed.


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