The leader of the One Nation Party Pauline Hanson is to call on the Australian Parliament to suspend online betting on lottery draws in the country. She provided more details on her opinion during a visit to a bayside newsagent in Brisbane today.
According to Ms. Hanson, such a step is absolutely necessary in order for local authorities to protect Australian jobs and prevent them from being lost to online betting brands which are owned by overseas operators such as Gibraltar-based Lottoland.
One Nation’s Pauline Hanson shared that currently, Australia-based newsagencies are being hit by massive losses due to the fact that the country’s Government is still providing Lottoland with permission to operate, which reduces their profits. Ms. Hanson further explained that she fully supports Australian newsagencies and will do everything what it takes to improve the current status quo.
In order to prove that foreign operators hurt the performance of Australian newsagents, Senator Hanson cited some data, according to which local newsagents employed over 20,000 people in the country, while Lottoland employed eight individuals only. She also said that local newsagencies are often at the centre of Australian communities, and the Government needs to do everything possible in order to preserve them.
Back in March, Senator Hanson proposed a legislation amendment aimed at proclaiming such practices illegal. At the time, she got the support of the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association, but the attempt was unsuccessful as the Australian Government and the local Labour Party vote down the proposal. At the time when the amendment was voted against, Ms Hanson shared her disappointment, but also said that she had no intention of giving up.
Lottoland Faces Crack Down in Australia
The online lottery service Lottoland is currently facing a massive nationwide campaign in Australia.
Currently, Lottoland offers its customers to make bets on the outcomes of over 30 different lottery draws. However, according to the One Nation party leader, Lottoland, as well as other foreign-owned online betting companies have been threatening the performance of local newsagencies, causing them serious losses.
South Australia has already suspended the agency from offering its services there, and the state of Victoria has also been planning to introduce a piece of legislation that would see Lottoland’s operations banned. According to media reports, the new piece of legislation could be presented in October 2017.
Most recently, it became clear that the Government of Western Australia is also considering a draft that could see a ban imposed on the operator’s services in this part of the country. The Premier Mark McGowan has confirmed the move, saying that forging the new piece of legislation would not happen right away. He also shared that local lawmakers were focused on dealing with overseas operators such as Lottoland due to the fact that such companies’ services have seriously hurt the results and performance of the traditional lottery operators within the state.
- Author
Olivia Cole
