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By Murray Fish · Posted
‘Strength to strength’ – Entain says its fully committed to New Zealand opportunity Entain boss Andrew Vouris has insisted that the wagering company is committed to the full 25 years of its partnership with TAB NZ, with intention to retain its NZ$200 million annual contribution past 2028. By Warwick Barr ● Wagering ● November 25, 2025 Entain Australlia and New Zealand CEO Andrew Vouris has restated his company’s commitment to New Zealand. (Photo: Entain) Global wagering giant Entain insists its commitment to its investment in New Zealand racing remains strong, with an expectation it will be able to maintain current funding levels beyond an initial guaranteed five-year period. Entain’s Australian and New Zealand chief executive Andrew Vouris says data from the company’s partnership with TAB NZ, formed in 2023, suggests that an annual contribution of around $NZ200 million will continue after 2028. Under the terms of the arrangement, including ongoing profit share, Entain has guaranteed to provide funding to TAB NZ for more than $1 billion for the first five years of the deal. Entain made an upfront payment of $NZ160 million to secure the wagering licence, while it shelled out another $NZ100 million, subject to the passage of legislative amendments, such as the introduction of geo-blocking, which effectively gives the company a New Zealand wagering monopoly. Advertisement The deal was met with widespread approval and Vouris says there is no chance of Entain walking out on the New Zealand racing industry, providing wagering continues on an upward spiral. “We’re certainly trending that way … but a couple of things need to go for us,” Vouris told Trackside NZ’s Guerin Report. “We need to deliver on our core promise … which is to go back to basics, make sure that we’re in the business of selling bets, reinvest that back into innovation, and make sure we capture all of the grey market that was there. “Second fold is we need the racing industry to, I guess, make sure they deliver on what customers want. “Customers want consistency of racing on our best tracks at the right times with the optimal field sizes, and those field sizes are between 10 and 14. “I think if we both do that, then we’ll deliver on that outcome.” Entain has taken a back-to-basics approach to its presence in New Zealand.” Under Vouris’ tenure, Entain has shuttered the TAB Racing Club because it did not align with its values as a core wagering business. It follows a similar strategic change to its Australian business. Advertisement “We’re not in the race ownership business,” he said. “We’re in the selling-of-bets business. “When we’re looking to deploy capital, I want to make sure it’s going into innovation and technology. That’s where we’ll get the best returns, and so that was the decision.” The TAB NZ/Entain agreement is for 25 years and Vouris is adamant the company is “here for the long haul”. “The business is actually growing really, really well, and we can see a future path for bigger growth,” he said. “So from my perspective, we deliver on what we’re here to deliver on, which is go back to selling bets and innovate in technology for the benefit of the customer. “We’ll do what we need to do, and if racing does what it needs to do, then there is a really, really strong business here that will live well beyond the 25-year partnership.” Entain shutters TAB Racing Club as CEO focuses on selling bets Vouris’ comments come as Entain is shedding 120 jobs in its Australasian sector amid an expected $60 million annual reduction in expenditure. Entain has already cut its Australian and New Zealand workforce by 60 people, and more employees are expected to leave in the coming weeks. It follows a major swing in strategy since the departure of former chief executive Dean Shannon in June. A host of senior executives have also left in a major reset amid financial regulator AUSTRAC bringing civil charges against the firm. Entain cuts 120 jobs, exiting ‘non-core’ business as part of Australasian strategy pivot AUSTRAC’s action involving anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing safeguards remains ongoing with a Federal Court date set down for November 2026. But Vouris says the outcome of the case will have no bearing on Entain’s New Zealand business. “Whatever happens in Australia with AUSTRAC, it won’t be impacting our New Zealand business at all,” he said. “New Zealand is totally looked at separately, and we’re growing from strength to strength.” Entain now has a legislated monopoly in New Zealand after the passage of legislation in June which enshrined it as the sole licensed wagering provider in the country of five million people. Vouris said the previous ‘grey market’ occupied by overseas operators was worth around $180 million, but that hadn’t just disappeared overnight. “Just last week, we found 200 illegal offshore operators still offering sports and racing products to New Zealanders,” he said. “It’s important because we paid a lot of money for a monopoly, and we want to make sure that we get a monopoly. “It’s a monopoly we have. But just to be clear, there was zero incentive of an offshore wagering operator cross-selling sport into racing. It’s our full incentive to make sure that gets done, and that’s why we’re seeing 47 per cent of customers that had never had a racing bet now betting on racing.” -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Grade 1 winner Lush Lips returns in the $300,000 Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs Nov. 28 against a talented group of 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
There has been much discussion in the press recently about the ongoing negotiations on the 2026 racing calendar in New York. In truth, we are closer than reports would suggest on reaching an agreement. Currently, there are four days for the Winter meet, four days for the Saratoga meet, and two days at the Spring meet that are in dispute. We are advocating strongly to retain these dates because we believe that a robust year-round racing calendar is vital to the long-term health of New York's Thoroughbred industry. Year-round racing sustains the breeding industry, it supports thousands of jobs at the tracks, the breeding farms, and all the ancillary businesses that depend on our industry to survive. It is essential to our year-round horsemen and women – owners and trainers and backstretch workers alike – who have built their lives in New York State, buying homes, raising families, and becoming valued members of their communities. Racing dates at the NYRA tracks already have been cut by 15% in the last seven years and, as history will show us, once you lose those dates, you do not get them back. But has cutting dates really been a successful strategy? It's just not working. We are still seeing a decline in field size, because we have not done a good job of attracting new owners and trainers to race in New York. Our horses head to Oaklawn and Kentucky, where purses are higher and the cost of doing business is lower. Offering ever fewer racing days is not going to reverse that trend. NYTHA has several proposals on the table that we hope will be given due consideration. One is a Developer Program modeled on the initiative currently enjoying success in Maryland. This program would reward a horse's “Developer” – the owner that makes the investment to breed or buy the horse and then bring it to the races – with a bonus for starting the horse's career in New York and keeping it here. We have ideas for decreasing the cost of doing business in New York. We have suggested finding ways to make our product more attractive to horse players on days when revenue is down, with lowered takeout or other incentives. Maybe these proposals will work, maybe they will not. But you can't keep doing what you have been doing – cutting dates – and expect different results. We are in a transition year in New York. We have not raised purses in five years, because the horsemen and the racetrack agreed that revenue would be challenged during the Belmont redevelopment, and we wanted to be able to sustain our program and our purses during the construction of the new Belmont Park. We are optimistic that the new Belmont will revitalize New York racing, and we have been assured that having a winter meet on the synthetic track will bring new trainers to New York and we will see the results in increased revenue. We need to give these historic changes the best opportunity to work, not by further contraction, but by finding ways to grow our business and support our year-round horsemen and women. Tina Bond is the President of the NYTHA. The post Letter To The Editor: New York Racing Needs A Robust Year-Round Calendar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
Many other industries have gone ahead in leaps and bounds when this has been introduced and a new brand developed and marketed. Zespri, Fonterra -
Simple conclusion Despite all the assertions to the contrary, does anyone really know how good a young horse will be until it is tested on a racetrack under race conditions. Even someone like David Ellis would acknowledge this. He buys a lot of horses, some turn out to be group winners, but a lot don't do much
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