Australia plans to close the legal loopholes that bookmakers have used to offer online in-play sports betting.

On Thursday, Human Services Minister Alan Tudge (pictured) released the findings of a review of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 conducted by former New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell. The federal government says it has accepted 18 of the report’s 19 recommendations, most of which represent tighter controls on operators. (Read the full report here.)

The IGA restricts in-play sports betting to telephone and retail channels but last year saw William Hill Australia launch an ingenious smartphone app that uses voice recognition technology to circumvent this restriction, and many of Hills down under rivals quickly followed suit.

The O’Farrell report says that until legislators are prepared to do a full revamp of the IGA, “consideration of additional in-play betting product should be deferred” and “legislative steps should be taken to respect the [IGA’s] original intent.”