Crypto betting on the radar for gaming regulator

The nation’s key online gambling regulator is considering allowing the use of cryptocurrencies in betting – a significant departure from international practice.

The Australian gambling industry is keeping a close eye on cryptocurrency betting platforms as Australian-owned Stake.com continues to grow, working alongside partners including the UFC and Premiership League teams. Picture: Getty Images

The nation’s key online gambling regulator is considering allowing the use of cryptocurrencies in betting – a significant departure from international practice.

The Northern Territory Racing Commission, which licenses the country’s largest online bookmakers including Sportsbet, Neds and Tabcorp, is expected to make its final decision within months.

The move from the NRTC comes more than four years after it pursed Neds after the company announced plans to allow the use of bitcoin in gambling in February 2018. At the time, the commission sent a “cease and desist” email to all betting platforms within hours of Neds’ announcement.

In a statement, the NRTC confirmed to The Weekend Australian that it was “considering the issues to be addressed to allow betting in cryptocurrency” and would be “in a better position to advise … on progress in the near future”.

There has been a boom in the number of online gaming sites and bookmakers allowing cryptocurrencies to be used, despite these services being outlawed in the US.

Some existing industry operators say they are concerned that the use of cryptocurrencies in online gaming will facilitate money laundering and the avoidance of other regulations.

A report last year by the Asian Racing Federation concluded cryptocurrencies would give “the operators of illegal bookmaking syndicates and related entities such as Macau casino junket operators a means of transferring money without detection in order to offshore the criminal proceeds of their illegal betting operations, settle payments with customers, and pay employees in overseas illegal betting hubs”.

Despite the Australian ban, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency betting sites has continued to operate out of Melbourne.

Stake.com – which is owned by Melbourne company Easygo – says it is “a cryptocurrency friendly online casino which provides sports betting and unique casino games from the biggest providers in the industry”.

Australian-owned Stake.com, which describes itself as 'a cryptocurrency friendly online casino which provides sports betting'. Picture: Screenshot

The company – widely represented in the sports industry – last year becoming the main sponsor for English premiership soccer team Watford in a deal believed to be worth £5m ($9m).

Stake.com is also the main betting partner of the UFC, allowing customers to stream and bet on fights. Since its launch in 2017, it has grown to be worth $1bn, The Age reported in December.

That success was prominent on display last month when its founder, 26-year-old Ed Craven, was revealed to be the buyer of a $38m ritzy mansion in Toorak.

Stake.com co-founder Ed Craven’s home the Toorak Garden Residence on Orrong Road, Toorak. Picture: Sharyn Cairns

To bypass local regulation, Stake.com has banned its platform from use in Australia and the US.

“At present, a number of countries, including Australia and the US, do not permit cryptocurrency betting,” a Stake.com spokesman said. “We have stringent control systems in place to ensure compliance, including blocking users from Australia.”

As cryptocurrency rises in popularity, Australian companies are reporting that they’re having to jump through hoops to offer it to their customers.

A spokesman from Entain, which owns Neds, said that despite Stake.com’s rise in popularity the group had no immediate plans to integrate cryptocurrency into its betting platforms.

“Crypto is an area we are keeping under review but we have no plans to integrate it into any of our brands, Australian or otherwise, in the near term,” he said. “We aren’t seeing a great demand from customers for crypto at the moment.”

Sportsbet and Tabcorp are similarly monitoring cryptocurrency in the gaming industry.

However a Tabcorp spokesman told The Weekend Australian the company had no plans to introduce cryptocurrency for now.

“Developments in payment methods are something we monitor, but we have no immediate plans to introduce cryptocurrencies as a deposit method with TAB,” he said. “Any change of that nature would likely require regulatory approval.”