From Down Under -- Representatives from TAB Ltd. are lobbying for Australians to be able to bet on sports games in progress. The company is asking Communications Minister Richard Alston to make the change as part of the review of the two-year-old Interactive Gambling Act. News.com.au reports that a spokesman for Alston said that in-game betting isn't likely to get approved. "When the legislation was first introduced, in-the-run or on-the-run gambling was more likely to be associated with problem gambling," the spokesman said. "We will probably not be looking at reform in that area."
Data Hub -- The National Gambling Board of South Africa is saying that gambling is becoming more popular in the country, possibly because of the midweek lottery. Gambling expenditures in the country rose from 6.8 billion rand in 2001 to 10.6 billion rand in the first 10 months of 2002. Lusanda Rataemane, a managing researcher for the National Gambling Board, said that 60.5 percent of the population plays the lottery twice a week. The board found that of people who gamble, 71.3 percent play the lottery, 19.3 percent gamble at casinos, 15.3 percent bet on horse races and 7.2 percent play bingo.