The Opposition Party in Tasmania says Premier Paul Lennon needs to come clean on his dealings with online gambling exchange, Betfair.
Opposition leader Rene Hidding has called on the premier to reveal whether he intends to grant the U.K.-based betting exchange its first Australian license.
"We were first led to believe a decision would be made months ago, and then September was set as a deadline, but this has now passed with not a word from the Lennon Labor government," Hidding said in a prepared statement.
Federal Treasurer Peter Costello weighed into the debate, telling reporters in Hobart that he hoped the state government would consider the victims of gaming.
"The only thing that I would say is that I am concerned about the people who suffer from gaming addictions," Costello said. " . . . I think our governments, when they're looking at regulating gaming, should also be looking at minimizing the costs to families of gaming addictions because families can suffer so much."
State Racing Minister Jim Cox maintains, however, that Costello is overlooking the fact that primary users of Betfair would be professional and semi-professional punters. Cox said the state government has held discussions with key community groups on Betfair and will continue to listen to their views.
Lennon is currently in Japan, but a government spokesman said a decision on Betfair was still weeks away.