Skip to main content

a revolution is brewing in tote betting

News this morning that the New Zealand Racing Board, which controls the NZ TAB, has signed a deal with Australian based software company, Media and Gaming, developer of Typhoon Pools, to deliver its new totalisator betting platform. Most totalisator and pari-mutuel platforms are old technology, locked into maximum size fields (Aus TABs), slow calculation of dividends (UK Tote), problems with co-mingling and dividend displays (US)etc. This announcement could signal the first radical change to tote betting systems in many years.

NZ Racing selects Typhoon Betting platform

“Tote operations throughout the world run on legacy systems that do not enable them to compete against more technologically advanced gaming enterprises. This is holding racing back in its attempts to match other forms of global entertainment,” said Nicholas Plowman, MD of Media & Gaming. “TyphoonÃ’ goes a long way to solving these problems.”

Mr. Plowman identified several key advantages of the new TyphoonÃ’ betting system.

* TyphoonÃ’ is significantly cheaper to acquire, operate and maintain.
* TyphoonÃ’ is extremely fast, secure and reliable.
* TyphoonÃ’ is capable of handling an unlimited number of contestants, events, pools and customer accounts.
* TyphoonÃ’ runs 24/7
* TyphoonÃ’ handles multi-language and multi-currency international co-mingling.
* TyphoonÃ’ provides an improved ability to manage problem gambling issues through greater real-time visibility and reporting.
* TyphoonÃ’ will enhance an organisation’s existing products and introduce new products in a fast and efficient process.

Andrew Brown, Chief Executive of NZRB, said: “As part of our modernisation strategy, the NZRB conducted a worldwide search for the most efficient and reliable betting platform and TyphoonÃ’ was selected as the best and most cost-effective option.


Further comment here from Bill Saunders

Typhoon Blows Away the Opposition

Most totalisator operators worldwide have handled the transition to internet wagering very poorly. Early attempts simulated the activities of telephone operators keying bets called to them over the phone, taking little advantage of the benefits that internet operation provided.

...

Racing administrators worldwide recognise and encourage the commingling of wagering pools as a way of attracting bigger punters and international interest in their racing.

Given that they have a common obsession with wagering as the major source of funding their operations, it seems odd that the racing industry is prepared to tolerate partnerships with wagering operators whose systems are so primitive.

The combination of poor wagering systems and entrenched monopolies such at TabCorp which have no incentive to upgrade means that the racing industry is stuck with a glacial rate of change for any wagering innovation.

Comments

  1. What does this mean for us Kiwi punters?. To be honest I find the NZ TAB website to be one of the easiest and friendliest to use. Does this mean that the NZ TAB will be offering more betting from around the world in a similar manner to Australia's centerbet?

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'd say it just means their system will be scalable - they can add more markets, quicker, be more flexible, run a tote market on the Grand National or Royal Ascot races with more than 24 runners (assuming they have the same limitations as the Aus TABs). Remember what you see on the outside (effortless and smooth) may be nothing like how it works on the inside.

    Certainly means they will have more racing coverage, SkyRacing Aus and the Sth African channel are working hard on 24hr coverage, and there's no reason at all why a risk-free business like a TAB shouldn't be able to operate 24/7 online. And it also improves their options re co-pooling with overseas firms, on NZ racing and vice-versa.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comments, but if you're a spammer, you've just wasted your time - it won't get posted.

Popular posts from this blog

Spot-fixing - you will never, ever be able to stop it

According to this report , IPL tournaments so far have been rife with spot-fixing - that is fixing minor elements of the game - runs in a single over, number of wides bowled etc. The curious part of that article is that the Income Tax department are supposed to have found these crimes. What idiot would be stupid enough to put down 'big wad of cash handed to me by bookie' as a source of income? Backhanders for sportsmen, particularly in a celebrity- and cricket-obsessed culture like India are not rare. They could come from anything like turning up to open someone's new business (not a sponsor, but a 'friend of a friend' arrangement), to being a guest at some devoted fan's dinner party etc. The opportunities are always there, and there will always be people trying to become friends with players and their entourage - that is human nature. This form of match-fixing (and it's not really fixing a match, just a minor element of it) is very hard to prove, but also, ...

lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

The Christmas Hurdle from Leopardstown, a good Grade 2 race during the holiday period. But now it will go into history as the race which brought Betfair down. Over £21m at odds of 29 available on Voler La Vedette in-running - that's a potential liability of over £500m. You might think that's a bit suspicious, something's fishy, especially with the horse starting at a Betfair SP of 2.96. Well, this wasn't a horse being stopped by a jockey either - the bloody horse won! Look at what was matched at 29. Split that in half and multiply by 28 for the actual liability for the layer(s). (Matched amounts always shown as double the backers' stake, never counts the layers' risk). There's no way a Betfair client would have £600m+ in their account. Maybe £20 or even £50m from the massive syndicates who regard(ed) Betfair as safer than any bank, but not £600m. So the error has to be something technical. However, rumour has it, a helpdesk reply (not gospel, natur...