Unibet chides Aussie government over in-play betting ban

The CEO of Nordic online betting operator Unibet says Australia’s politicians are fooling themselves if they think banning online in-play sports betting will stop the activity.

Unibet CEO Henrik Tjärnström was in Australia over the weekend to check out his company’s down under doings and to throw a little shade at the Australian government’s decision to restrict online in-play sports betting.

Unibet launched its Aussie online in-play betting app this spring and the app quickly became one of the company’s fastest growing products. But Unibet, along with other Aussie-licensed bookies, was forced to disable the product under recent orders by the Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC).

The Australian quoted Tjärnström saying governments “could not stop customers doing what they wanted,” and if Aussie punters can’t enjoy in-play wagering with Australian-licensed bookmakers, then “the alternative is always one click away” with any of the 2k internationally licensed bookies who are only too happy to accept Aussie in-play action.