The new betting exchange is the brainchild of Henry Spurway, a
former Edinburgh bookmaker. Betting exchanges involve punters
betting against each other, rather than directly with a bookie.
Until now, on-line betting exchanges have relied on punters using
their home or work PCs. Easibet.net hopes to profit by offering
punters the sociable alternative of an internet café that doubles
as a betting exchange.
Spurway explained the concept to Edinburgh's Evening News:
“People bet and lay against each other rather than take on the
bookmaker and, on average, prices are 20% better than High Street
bookies.” The TV screens and information normally found in a
betting shop will be present, but Spurway promises that the
atmosphere will be entirely different.
“It’s an eatery too, and people will be able to eat lobster when
Ascot is on, and we will be serving food with different themes for
different occasions,” he added.
London-based Betfair, one of the world’s largest betting
exchanges, is backing the new venture which targets those who would
never previously have considered entering a normal betting
shop.
Edinburgh’s licensing board is the first in the world to grant a
gambling license for a betting exchange. Hong Kong has banned them
and Australia is expected to do the same. The UK government has yet
to rule on the matter.
However, rival bookies William Hill and Ladbrokes argue that the
exchanges are illegal under the 1963 Gaming, Betting and Lotteries
Act, which legalised betting shops. They have taken the matter to
court, claiming the licensing board was acting out with its powers
in granting the license.
In a preliminary hearing on Friday, a judge in Scotland's
highest court, the Court of Session, ruled in favour of Spurway.
However, the main points of the case have still to be heard.
