Australian Interbet Betting System Gets US Interest 08/26/96

[Joseph M. Reagle Jr.]

>ALICE SPRINGS, AUSTRALIA, 1996 AUG 26 (NB) -- An American from Washington  
>DC has placed the first "Interbet" on the Australian Football League (AFL), 
>$250 for a win on North Melbourne to beat Geelong, with Alice Springs 
>bookmaker CentreBet which switched on its net-based computer betting 
>service last week. 
>
>CentreBet has taken more than 70 bets on the Internet since launching the  
>worldwide service, approved by the Northern Territory Racing and Gaming 
>Authority. Alice Springs, colloquially known as "The Alice," is a small 
>community close to Ayers Rock in the central outback of Australia where 
>people are few and betting is a way of life. 
>
>CentreBet's Gerard Daffy told the Australian Associated Press news service  
>he expects keen Interbet interest from Asians who are big fans of English 
>soccer and also from Americans whom he expects to bet on a variety of major 
>sporting events, starting with this week's US Open tennis and the upcoming 
>NFL season. 
>
>However the AFL bet from America came right out of left field (AFL, or  
>Australian Rules football, a descendant of Ireland's Gaelic football, is 
>played seriously only in several Australian States, but is shown regularly 
>on some US cable-TV services). "The guy who put the bet on North Melbourne 
>is part of an Australian Rules fan club in the US," said Daffy. "There's 
>another American in Michigan who has opened an Interbet account to bet on 
>the AFL as well." 
>
>For the record: the fan who bet on North Melbourne can forget his $250.  
>Geelong downed North Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday 
>by 109 points to 96. 
>
>CentreBet can be reached at http://www.taunet.com.au/centrebet  
>
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_______________________
Regards,            Politics is the art of preventing people from taking 
                    part in affairs which properly concern them. -Paul Valery
Joseph  Reagle      http://rpcp.mit.edu/~reagle/home.html
reagle at mit.edu      E0 D5 B2 05 B6 12 DA 65  BE 4D E3 C1 6A 66 25 4E