After two days of meetings, racing ministers from Australia and New Zealand ended the 2003 Racing Ministers' Conference last week without a definitive stance on betting exchanges.
Clarifying statements about key issues could be made following the finalization of the meeting's minutes.
For now, none of the conference participants are making any public statements regarding betting exchanges. The only resolution to come out of the conference was an "in principle" agreement on a product fee for all bookmaker-based racing betting in Australia. The impetus of the measure was to combat cross-border betting.
Organizers of the conference released a communiqué about the product-fee decision.
"The conference delegates requested that the Australian Racing Industry undertake negotiations with licensed Australian bookmakers on a range of matters relating to a product fee framework," the statement read.
Conference delegates are hoping that the racing industry can provide ministers with a response before the next scheduled meeting, which is slated for March 12, 2004.
The racing ministers have no legislative power, but their opinions and recommendations on racing-related laws are often used as the guidelines by lawmakers.
While the ministers try to put a unifying voice on key issues, each individual state and territory maintains the right to announce its own positions on the issues and how policymakers should proceed.
The second key step in recouping revenue lost to offshore operators, many argue, would be the banning of betting exchanges.
Officials with Betfair.com, the leading P2P betting exchange, have persistently lobbied in Australia to get exchanges licensed and regulated and have offered to pay back taxes based on when the group began taking bets from Australians.
The conference was held just days before the Melbourne Cup, one of Australia's biggest races. Betfair hopes to make £5 million on the race.
The company's CEO, Stephen Hill, wrote a letter to racing ministers explaining the company's position and argued that licensing betting exchanges would translate to increased revenue for racing.
The influx of Betfair, Hill said, has increased the pool sizes for Totaliser Agency Boards (TABs), which are turning over more than $84 million in bets a week.
Nevertheless, officials with the TABs argue that betting exchanges are only a means through which bookmakers can lay bets and balance their books without have to pay Australian taxes or contribute to the racing industry.