Bet with Inside Information

Betting with inside information is a criminal offence and carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment. This offence is governed by Section 363H of the Criminal Code 2002.

What is betting with inside information?

A person commits an offence if they place a bet on a sporting event, other event or horse race based on the acquisition of information that isn’t widely available. An example of when this offence occurs is when a person knew before a sports match that a certain contender was going to withdraw from a competition and decided to place a bet as a direct result of that information. Another example is where a person knew that a particular competitor was guaranteed to win and placed a bet because of that knowledge.

A person can also be found guilty of a betting with inside information offence if they have inside information that they share with another person and that other person then places a bet because of what they had been told.

Betting with inside information gives the knowledge holder an unfair advantage because they made a betting decision based on additional information that was not available to the general public.

What is “inside information”?

Inside information is information that isn’t widely available in the public domain. It is information that is only known to those working within a certain organisation.  It could be any of the following:

• Information that a captain of a sports team is going to resign;
• Information that a sports team is appointing a new sports coach for the upcoming world cup;
• Information that a contender will drop out of a competition;
• Health information about a contender.

Inside information is broadly classified as information that could influence a person’s betting behaviour if they were to act upon that information.

What is public information?

Public information is information that could be considered readily available, so if someone wanted to access the information they could do so. Examples of public information include:

• Details about a competitor entering a race being published in a media release;
• A sports competitor list being announced before a sports match.

What the police must prove

To be convicted of betting with inside information, an accused must be proven to have placed a bet based on information that wasn’t accessible to the public and that only insiders had access to. You can also be convicted of betting with inside information if you share inside information with another person and they then place a bet based on the information you shared with them or if you encouraged another person to bet on an event or sports match based on inside information.

Possible defences to using inside information for betting purposes

• Duress;
• Honest and reasonable mistake;
• That the information was not inside information.

Which court will hear your matter?

Betting with inside information carries a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment. It is a summary offence and will be heard in the ACT Magistrates Court.

What are the possible penalties?

The maximum penalty for Betting With Inside Information is two years imprisonment, however the court can impose any of the following penalties:

• Prison Sentence
• Intensive Corrections Order (ICO)
• Suspended Sentence
• Community Service Order (CSO)
• Good Behaviour Bond
• Fine
• Non-Conviction Order (Section 17)

If you require legal advice about betting with inside information or any other legal matter, please contact Armstrong Legal.