[extropy-chat] Betfair takes on Australia for punter protection

[Brett Paatsch]

When I was growing up in OZ one of the ultimate insults that could be tossed over
at your schoolchum was that doing such-and-so was like "giving arms to the Arabs". 

Because I suppose, at that time, the Arabs were regarded in the popular media 
as not needing any addition arming in the interests (presumably of those who
were making the comments). As kids we perhaps were guilty of  sometimes
passing on propaganda that we heard without really even recognizing that it 
was propaganda directed at some group in the interests of another group that
we were mouthing in our attempts to sound wiser than our years or apprehension. 

After all, why the heck shouldn't arms be given to Arabs as a general proposition?
Are they not as capable, man for man and woman for woman of handling them 
responsibly after all. And after all didn't the second amendment to the US enshrine
the right to bear arms precisely so that individuals could, in the last resort, throw
of tyranny. And heck the US practically created Bin Laden "the terrorist". 

Anyway the above blurbage merely goes up here as preamble. Because I feel
that there are some extropes of high intellect but little emotion maturity (how 
are you RB?) that might just might be better off for the world if they weren't
encouraged along certain lines of thinking in advance of their readiness for it. 

That said, what the hell. Gotta give some of the good smart guys (cheers 
HF) a chance to learn too. 

Preamble hereby concluded. 

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Here is the state of the battle in Oz over ideas futures.
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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/17/oz_betfair/

" I punt in the land Down Under
Australians have a reputation as an easy going lot not overly concerned with the moral ambiguities of gambling. State regulated Totalizator Agency Boards (TAB) have offered off site wagering for forty years in every state in Australia, providing state guaranteed accuracy of the results posted. Casinos are legal, and online gambling giants like Sportingbet PLC are fully licensed. So what's the big deal about Betfair?

The Australian horse racing industry, much like its American counterpart, had a fit at the idea of its cozy state monopolies being challenged by outsiders like Betfair. The argument before the High Court has some awkward similarities to the ones that have the US Government squirming in front of the WTO in its fight with Antigua. "

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Brett Paatsch


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