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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (24 May) . . Page.. 1671 ..

Leave granted.

The response read as follows:

Ms Tucker asked: Could you tell the Assembly exactly at what stage the internet licences that you issued are up to.

Mr Humphries: The answer to the question is as follows:

    • In accordance with the Interactive Gambling Act 1998 (the Act), the licences were issued under section 27 of the Act.

    • The first licence was issued to tatts.com Pty Ltd on 17 May and the second, issued on 18 May, was to ACTTAB Limited.

    • The issue of a licence does not necessarily result in the immediate provision of an Internet gambling service.

    • The construction of the Act is such that an application that complies with section 26 of the Act is required to be considered by the Minister to either approve the application or refuse it. The Minister cannot simply ignore the application and do nothing about it. To do so would be tantamount to refusing the licence and the Minister could very well expect to be the respondent at a Supreme Court hearing under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act.

    • Section 26 deals with the eligibility to apply for a licence. Secions 28 to 30 contain the criteria for granting an application and largely deal with the suitability of the applicant, the suitability of the applicant's business associates and the applicant's ability to successfully conduct a business under the licence.

    • Before a licensed provider's site can become operational, there are quite a number of other requirements that must be met under the Act. For example:

    • each game must be tested and authorised;

    • each key person involved with the operation of the site must undergo probity checking and be licensed; and

    • the provider's control system, software and hardware, is subjected to comprehensive and independent laboratory testing before approval of the system.

    • Also, the Territory's legislation provides the Minister with the power to place conditions on a licence, to change, add to or delete a condition.

    • The types of conditions that I have placed on the licences strengthen controls on player privacy and harm minimisation measures already in place for the proper conduct of games or in the public interest. The licensees will not be allowed to 'go live' until I am satisfied that they are ready to do so. That is another condition of the licences issued.

In respect of tatts.com Pty Ltd, I anticipate that it will be ready to go live in about six weeks or so. In respect of ACTTAB, it will be some months.

As I said in response to the question yesterday, Tattersall's embarked on this venture some 18 months or so ago. ACTTAB has not been in the pipeline as long and consequently cannot be expected to be as near to a 'go live' date as Tattersall's.

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