Australia’s largest online sportsbook, Sportsbet, have been forced to remove a new ASX betting product from their offerings after the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) deemed it a financial product.
Looking for new and innovative betting markets during the lockdown of worldwide sport, Sportsbet introduced a new product on April 1st that allowed punters to bet on whether the Australian stock index would rise or fall each day. With plenty of market volatility during the global health pandemic, the market movements became an attractive proposition for gamblers.
However this was one gamble that didn’t pay off for Sportsbet as ASIC ruled they didn’t have the appropriate financial services licence to offer such a product. Historically, firms have used gambling as a cover to circumvent financial services laws, so it’s important the integrity of the markets remain in tact.
“It is important to maintain robust monitoring and supervision controls to ensure financial services are provided efficiently, honestly and fairly,” the regulator said.
“Firms need to ensure continued compliance with their regulatory obligations in the COVID-19 (coronavirus) context, assessing the effectiveness of their business continuity plans and alternative working arrangements so as to comply with all regulatory requirements.”
With many of the Sportsbet staff working remotely, Sportsbet laid blame on the current environment leading to problems implementing the company’s control framework.
In the meantime, Sportsbet still offer a wide range of betting markets during the pandemic including reality TV, politics, eSports, international table tennis, Korean baseball as well as local horse racing and greyhounds betting.
