Tasmania state gov’t to prohibit Lottoland’s operations

Online lottery betting operator Lottoland finds itself under threat in yet another Australian state while catching a break of sorts from the country’s competition watchdog.

On Wednesday, the state government in Tasmania became the latest Aussie jurisdiction to take steps to restrict Lottoland’s local operations. Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business Roger Jaensch announced that the state government was crafting legislation to ban the activities of so-called ‘synthetic’ lotteries.

Lottoland customers don’t actually participate in local and international lottery draws but can wager on the outcome of these draws for prizes equal to the value of those lottery jackpots. Jaensch said “this form of product is not welcome” in Tasmania and that “technical and legal work” on the anti-Lottoland legislation would begin “straight away.”

Lottoland’s ‘disruptive’ business model has proven a hit with customers pretty much everywhere the site operates, and has spawned a raft of imitators, including the online betting arm of Aussie casino operator Crown Resorts.