SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Facing a probe by Australia’s Federal Police of its ‘Click to Call’ betting system, William Hill is standing by its controversial mechanism.
During its interim results, the bookmaker revealed that its Australian betting division had seen wagers triple following the introduction of ‘Click to Call’, which follows live betting procedures by allowing customers to connect to live betting markets through activation of their device microphones.
William Hill executives told the briefing that the company had plans yp increase promotional activities and continue to expand development of the system.
Group CEO James Henderson backed the operator’s stance amid reports that ‘Click to Call’ was in-breach of Australia’s 2001 Interactive Gambling Act regulations on wagering on live sporting events. Henderson commented on the controversial feature:
“We’ve had a very positive response to Click to Call since April. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has referred the product for review, but we have every confidence in our product, so we’ve made it available across all our platforms.”
Henderson was also reported as saying that the operator was prepared to fund AUS $19 million in expanding and enhancing the service.
William Hill argues that its betting feature is an extension of its telephone betting service, which is allowed by Australian gambling laws to take live bets. The bookmaker has not taken the precautionary route of competitor Ladbrokes, which suspended its own version of the service in July. Other bookmakers are also continuing with their similar live betting features.
“Click to Call is compliant. We are confident with the legality of the service and have obtained senior counsel advice to confirm this,” William Hill told The Australian newspaper.
