Sport is made for betting

It wasn't much of a secret after rumours broke last night but BetFred have today been named as the successful bidder for the UK Tote. Traditionalists will have a bit of a moan but one bid was based on cold, hard cash; the other was based on a lot of hope which ultimately could have seen racing sink even further into the mire. It still puzzles me why people were so wholeheartedly in favour of a bid team which included the likes of Chris 'one race is fixed in Britain every day' Bell who had no problem with his former firm Ladbrokes operating its phone and online operations offshore to dodge tax and levy. Fred's no saint but he has to be admired for the empire he has built. Betfred named new owners of the Tote BOOKMAKERS Betfred have won the race to buy the Tote and on Friday morning signed a contract with the government to buy the state-owned betting operator for a total of £265 million. Net proceeds will be £180m, which will be split 50-50 between the government an...

Betfair's share price is up 35p this morning, including a recovery from a 20p drop after a climb of 40p in the first two hours of trading, after it fell to a new low of 752p last week. Here's one for you - how would you price up "First to leave their post - David Yu or Sepp Blatter?" The Czech lottery company Sazka has been declared bankrupt by the Prague Municipal Court . Surely there is something seriously wrong here - perhaps they should have spoken to FIFA about to keep a corrupt organisation in operation?? Centrebet shareholders are expected to support the Sportingbet buyout bid afte the Kafataris family and the board put their weight behind it. Spain’s new gaming law has been officially published in the country’s State Gazette and will be enforced subject to European Commission approval. In case you've missed it, the US Department of Justice is going after more than just the biggest US-facing poker rooms , with some sportsbooks in its sights as wel...

Over the past few months, there has been some excitement about the prospects of exchange wagering being permitted in the USA , particularly California and New Jersey. The governments of these two states have passed legislation to allow exchange betting on local horse racing, with Betfair heavily involved in the lobbying. All that has happened is the current gambling legislation has been expanded to include a racing-only betting exchange as an option, it's not a given, and it's certainly not a given that Betfair have the rights to it. There are still some huge obstacles a betting exchange has to overcome before a Betfair-branded exchange is up and running in the USA. 1 - the debate over the ethics of laying horses . That hasn't occurred yet, and there's no reason to believe American racing people will be any less antiquated than the rest of the world when it comes to explaining that you can effectively lay a horse via current wagering systems, it's just more comp...

Sportingbet Australia are banking on a change to betting in-running laws with this move to develop an IPTV betting platform . Racing provides the lion's share of their business but the big potential for growth is with sports betting. However due to a ludicrous piece of legislation, which is unlikely to be amended during the term of a minority government, you can only bet in-running on a sporting event via a voice call from within Australia. The Queensland govt needs more tax revenue so the easiest way to do that is put more pokies in the casinos . Evil bloody things that should be outlawed but they never will. The politicians hide behind the fact that it's no more for the state, but the fact is these ones will see far higher footfall than hidden away in a suburban pub, equalling more tax revenue and more damage to the moral fabric of Qld society. At least WA continues to resist the urge . The bidding for the UK Tote hots up with a consortium fronted by Martin Broughton lin...

Not a good week for bookies at Royal Ascot, with favourites and plunge horses landing the chocolates all festival. With only six horses winning at 10/1 or bigger - a very low number considering the size of many of the fields - there was no respite at all for bookies. Only Rite of Passage winning the Gold Cup on Thursday at 20/1 was a surprise result in any of the big races. "Punters have never had it so good. Every single day they've given us a right royal bashing," said Ladbrokes' David Williams. "Thank goodness for the England football team. They are our only salvation in a week of misery for the bookies." "It has been carnage, no other word for it," said William Hill spokesman David Hood. "What is it about Ascot? For some bookies the five consecutive losing days of 2010 will make the infamous Dettori day look like a round of drinks. Totesport told a similar story, with spokesman George Primarolo adding: "Punters have clawed back their...

Too many tidbits, not enough time for full-length articles... The mystery in the Betfair/Danny Nikolic/Neville Clements inquiry in Australian racing gets deepers with professional punter Neville Clements being warned off all Australian racecourses indefinitely , no doubt as a refusal to share phone records which will incriminate him. There is plenty more to come in this story. Let's hope if a conviction is warranted, then it is reached, unlike the farcical scenes of the Fallon case in the UK a few years back. It's March, so Italian football is looking dodgy again. On the weekend we had the Chievo-Cagliari boat race which went as planned, but last night a Serie B match was taken off the board by all and sundry but then didn't go as planned. All the money was for a draw between Vicenza and Crotone, but the away team won 2-0, even with 10 men! Did the authorities tell them they were being watched very closely, or was it the case of a few punters trying to spoof the market and ...

I like to rant about racing issues, so it's about time I had a crack at British racing's Racing For Change. Here are the points listed as part of the Racing for Change initiatives with my comments inserted: -Trial of decimal odds at several race meetings over one weekend in spring 2010. I think this is more to do with the failing education system than racing's problem, but I see their point. But going to 1.5/1 instead of 6/4 is a waste of time. If you're going to change, do it properly and go to proper decimals - the Betfair/Australian bookies way (2.5). One state of Australia went to decimalised fractions (18/10 etc) on its own and it had zero effect. They all ended up going to proper decimal odds in the late 90s. BUT Australia had a key reason to switch - the totes had taken over and the younger generation were more accustomed to seeing tote odds broadcast on the TV or in the paper. The Tote is almost a non-entity in the UK. I doubt it will make a difference at all - ...

This case has been running all week and will continue for a few days yet. Numerous articles about it in the Aus press with Racing NSW gaining some ground (they couldn't really lose much more) and legalese choking proceedings to a very slow grind. One quote from tomorrow's article in the Sydney Morning Herald I wanted to highlight though: Racing NSW argues that the fee should be calculated by turnover because turnover is easier to assess and ''less susceptible to avoidance or manipulation'' than gross revenue. It also argues that turnover is not influenced by the particular business model or business decisions made by the company. Turnover is also preferable to gross revenue because it cannot be manipulated by inducements, rebates or benefits given to valuable customers, Racing NSW argues. Rubbish, there is not one system in the world which is manipulation-proof. On-course bookmakers in Aus have been caught over the years taking bets on a second set of books - s...

In all the posturing between Gordon Brown and David Cameron before the UK general election sometime next year, the big debate is now how are we going to pay for the mess we are in, particularly the huge government bail-out of the economy. Brown has proposed a sale of several public assets including the Tote again, the sale of which had been put on the shelf during the economic downturn. Government's £16bn sale of assets Is this what is best for the country or just the bet they can come up with to save Brown's arse as PM? As Vince Cable says in the article, "This is not a good time to sell assets." Dumping it cheaply will not serve the racing industry like it is supposed to. Here's a thought. Rather than constantly talking of selling the Tote off at a fire sale price, how about floating it? Encourage mum and dad buyers to get involved, and hopefully increase the client base as well. People who buy shares in a firm are more likely to spend money there when given a c...

Betfair, Ladbrokes, TABCorp and others have all pulled out or had offers rejected. What happens now? The price did seem a bit rich given the current economic climate, and particularly the changing wagering landscape in Australia. Tote Tasmania's sale plan in turmoil The Tasmanian Government may float the state’s Tote on the stock market after failing to find a buyer during a protracted bidding process. In a statement, Treasurer Michael Aird said two binding formal bids received when the window for formal tenders closed last week did not value Tote Tasmania at a “fair and reasonable” price. However, he insisted the sales process would continue on the open market and could possibly involve a public float. He said abandoning the private bidding process after months of haggling sent a message that the Tote would not be sold cheaply. Do they hold their cards, hoping that changing legislation works in their favour so they can achieve that sale price eventually, or do they...

You'd think running a tote business in a region with a strong racing product, plenty of retail outlets and high margins would mean large, guaranteed profits. Apparently not. Off-track betting under fire for vehicle fleet The betting operation, which is heavily indebted and government-controlled, has come under scrutiny by the state comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, for having a fleet of 87 vehicles at its disposal, according to an article in The New York Times on Tuesday. The vehicles cost an average of $6,700 each to operate every year. ... The betting parlors are floundering in fiscal mismanagement. Last year, they recorded a deficit of $17.8 million, despite handling $1 billion in wagers. On Tuesday, Governor David A. Paterson issued an executive order authorizing OTB to file for bankruptcy protection. What the ....? 87 company cars around one of the world's most traffic unfriendly cities? Get on the bloody subway! Have they ever thought of looking at how similar b...

William Hill - soon to channel all online business through Gibraltar Ladbrokes - soon to channel all online business through Gibraltar BetFred - online business goes through Gibraltar Stan James - all business goes through Gibraltar Victor Chandler - all business goes through Gibraltar Paddy Power - online business goes through the Isle of Man Boylesports - online business goes through the Isle of Man Blue Square - all business goes through Alderney Sportingbet - all business goes through Alderney SkyBet - all business goes through Alderney Betfair - all non-UK and non-exchange business goes through Malta Jennings - online business goes through Malta Totesport - have no choice, they are an organization created by the UK government Bet365 - online sports betting is licensed in the UK, other products through Malta If I have any of these wrong, please feel free to contact me and clarify. So the headlines are deservedly hard on Hills and Ladbrokes, but they're not Robinson Crusoe in th...

A publicly-listed company CEO is responsible to his or her shareholders and the board. Peter V'Landys, head of Racing NSW, leads a government-backed organisation and has no such issues with accountability. If he was out in the public sector, he'd been out of a job long, long ago. What an absolute goose. He has gone public on the Racing NSW website commenting about a letter from leading NSW bookmaker Robbie Waterhouse, just before the Racing NSW vs Betfair and Sportsbet case over race fields legislation and the inappropriate turnover-based fee goes to court. Rule 1 of legal cases - don't comment in the public domain just before the case is heard. You risk putting the judge offside by making dangerous assumptions, give the opposition chance to react and risk being held in contempt of court. Take a look at Bill Saunders' article - Racing NSW Rattled Never has someone so powerful had so little clue about the law or anti-monopoly regulations and glossed over the facts that t...

Interesting times in Tasmania. Not only did they break ranks and license Betfair, much to the annoyance of all the Aus mainland states, now they have the Tas Tote up for sale and are looking at completely restructuring the tax regime in order to create more jobs. Tasmania has quite high unemployment and faces an exodus of youth each year as teenagers finish school and head to Melbourne or Sydney usually to study or find work. Tote Tasmania Sale Looks To Raise Over A$200m The government has also suggested the ending of wagering taxes on pari-mutuel and fixed-odds betting. Like Betfair, Tote Tasmania will now run under the aegis of the Tasmanian Gaming Commission. Coleman said the new regime would ensure the growth and profitability of Tote Tasmania while providing a secure future for the Tasmanian racing industry. “The legislative package released today shows that Tasmania supports business and offers an innovative and well-regulated environment in which to operate a successful business...

A few weeks ago TABCorp, who run the NSW and Victorian totalisators announced they were kicking the small fish out of the shared pools, namely WA, Tasmania and the ACT. Another part of the deal was also removing the sports betting arm as well which supplied prices to all state TABs throughout the land. Western Australia, the biggest state of that trio, has now renegotiated to stay in the pooled totalisator with Victoria (apparently it's too hard for them to link NSW and Victoria - anyone would think it's like the trains in the early 1900s, the tracks in one state were six inches further apart than the other, so you had to switch trains at the border to get from Sydney to Melbourne!). However it will come at a cost to WA racing. Tabcorp agreement comes at a cost for WA racing To be fair, that's not greed from TABCorp, just the simple reality that WA is a mass importer of racing product (far more bet on other states by WA residents than what is bet on WA racing by the rest of...

Good luck with this one, I just can't see it working. Typhoon Pools set to storm TABs Without a massive marketing budget, these guys can't win. They might have lots of handy new features, but ultimately, the Aussie totes work because they cater for Aussies who bet cash and can access them whenever they like. Multi-currency, big fields, sports (!) are useless features unless the world gets involved. Tote sports betting is a mindless idea - who is going to bet on a two-horse race without knowing the price they are getting? Good luck for taking on the big boys but they need bottomless pockets for the marketing to even make a blip on the radar.

This week Betfair has purchased a US racing network and tote pool company for just £35m. The Tasmanian TAB, a small but innovative tote monopoly, is up for sale with estimates being between AU$30 and $80 million (£13-35m). Let's look at the UK tote. It's not a monopoly. Day-to-day race pools (win, place, exacta, trifecta) are pitiful, the only popular products are the Placepot and Scoop6. The Tote has a lot of shops, some of which are rather dated or closing down. It has a bookmaking arm, but who doesn't these days, and how many of these customers are genuinely loyal without accts elsewhere? The Tote now links in with most UK bookies, which means big pools but gives away most of their margin as well. The technology is outdated and frequently breaks down. A tote should be able to show approximate dividends the instant the horses cross the line. A recent bet of mine at Ascot, a winning trifecta, took 20 minutes to display a dividend. How do they calculate the divs - with pen ...

While the UK Tote can't find a buyer, mostly because of the ridiculous price they were expecting, TOTE Tasmania is being put up for sale by the Tasmanian government. Who's in the market to buy? Betfair, TABCorp, Tattersall's or perhaps a foreign company. Tas govt press release If I was framing a market, I'd mark Tattersall's as favourite, followed by Betfair as both companies already have strong relationships in Tasmania.

Lydia Hislop of Racing UK gives the bureaucracy something to think about with this piece. Very interesting points about Betfair terminals on-course... The new year detox action plan for a healthier sport The Tote does need a good kick up the backside too - it could be so much bigger if they knew how to exploit their niche in the market.

Rather than moaning like the mainland TABs, the Tas Tote gets on with it, sponsors a track and links in with Asian night racing. Night Racing For Tasmania Tuesday, 2 December 2008: TOTE Tasmania will fund a $6 million lighting project that will enable the Tasmanian Turf Club to stage night racing next year. The funding was announced by Racing Minister Michael Aird at the official opening of the new all-weather StrathAyr track in Launceston on Sunday. RacingandSports article Meanwhile other states can't see the forest for the trees...