The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced on July 21 that it would not be opposing the acquisition of International All Sports by Sportsbet Pty Ltd. Sportsbet's model is entirely based on internet and phone betting, and its merger with IAS will make it the largest operator of this type in Australia.
Frontier (Australia), led by Philip Williams and Amar Breckenridge, advised Sportsbet on its dealings with the ACCC. The gambling industry in Australia is in a transitional phase, as previously granted exclusivity provisions and past restrictions on interstate gambling have been progressively repealed, or made in effect redundant through the expansion of internet and phone gambling. Under a more traditional view of the industry, which has tended to segment it by region and on the basis of business models, the merger may have encountered resistance. Frontier drew on its understanding and analysis of recent trends in the industry to demonstrate that the merger would not lead to a substantial lessening of competition.
