With World Tennis slowly dealing with a match-fixing scandal that’s threatening to engulf the sport, it’s probably either an unwise move, or a simple stroke of bad timing, that one of the chief corporate sponsors of this year’s Australian Open comes in the form of online betting giant William Hill.
The Herald Sun today dedicated their front page to slamming the company, claiming that the Victorian State Government is absolutely furious with Tennis Australia for accepting the advertising deal which puts William Hill’s logo in prominent position near the Melbourne logo which is on all court surfaces at the National Tennis Centre.
The Herald reports that the company is under scrutiny due to its advertised “in-game” betting, which is illegal for online platforms in Australia. William Hill does offer in-game betting through it’s mobile app, but it does so via Skype-like VoiceOver IP services, technically conforming with the letter of the law which states that in-game betting can only be made through a “standard telephone service.”
The front page article on the Herald today claims that the Australian Communications and Media Authority has received complaints about the service, inferring that the Australian Federal Police have since become involved in the situation.
However, William Hill has since strongly refuted these claims, lambasting them as false and demanding a complete retraction of the Herald Sun’s entire front page. A spokesman for the company issued a statement a short while ago.
“William Hill has received confirmation from the Australian Communications and Media Authority that they have not referred to the Australian Federal Police a complaint about William Hill’s in-play service on December 24, as referenced in the article.”
“We also note that no formal investigation has been undertaken by the Australian Federal Police, let alone any determination that the service is in breach of the law.”
The deal between Tennis Australia and William Hill is reportedly worth somewhere in the vicinity of $5million.
Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty Images.
Source: William Hill, Herald Sun.
