westbrew

I think that this seems to be what we use to call, a ball blowing exercise, something that many of my friends in the rural community find distasteful, and many in the business world cant get enough of.

Yes it looks awful, but the reality is that many clubs no longer have the financial resources to upkeep large assets such as tracks and the supporting public infrastructure, However the industry has been given a five year golden ticket and is determined to piss it away in funding stakes to an unsustainable level (in the medium to long term) I guess it will end where it always ends with this industry, heading off to the Government with its hand out, and expecting another free lunch. The most disappointing aspect of the industry is that it seems to have no financial constraints on the growing administrational structures, my god if you add up the cost of NZTR,HRNZ,GRNZ and RIB i reckon you are looking at 40 to 50 million plus.

Facial recognition really???? What a crock, they have a $1000 limit where you have to provide ID for any money coming in or going out and the DIA rules about pokie betting and what is required in management of the the machines more than cover off on all of the problem gambling aspects within the retail TAB environment. Just read the financial information (even though they are doing there best to cover up the real story) the reality is the numbers that Entain and TAB talk about don't stack up in any way shape or form, the industry is sitting at the top of a fiscal cliff, and TAB 4 Ever in his positive vain is dead rite, enjoy it now. That's because there is a world of pain coming down the road.

Unfortunately for Greyhounds its the profit distribution of the turnover, in simple terms the TAB makes profit from domestic racing, offshore racing, sports and pokies, at the end of the year profit was paid out at about give or take 19% to Greys, 26% harness 55% TB, the only turnover and profit that will be lost will be domestic Greyhounds, and the sad reality is that the 20% of profit greyhounds was getting from sports, pokies, plus the revenue from offshore greyhounds adds up to a lot more than the profit being made on domestic greyhounds, thus the other two codes will be much better off to the tune of millions of dollars, plus take the RIB for example according to TAB accounts 14m last year you would think there is a saving of 3 or 4 million just there alone once Greyhounds are gone. Now after seeing the TAB accounts for last year it is very clear that the 50/50 split at the end of the 5 years is a fiscal cliff, already with have the backtrack on pokies to keep that income stream, and now looking at the numbers the geo block has gone from being cream on the cake, to actually needed to be able to deliver any chance of the two remaining codes profit distribution they are getting this year being able to be met in 3 years time, Thus the minister in all likely hood has signed off on the demise of Greyhounds to minimize the fiscal cliff for Harness and TB.

One of the major problems Harness racing has is the TAB is comprised of two sorts of punters those who have a specific interest ie sports or Greyhounds or harness etc, and those who are casual punters that are just looking to have a recreational bet or two. The example in the start of this tread while being easily understood by harness followers it puts the recreational punter off. Now I don't know the exact numbers but the average harness punter is probably 55+ and the average recreational punter 35+ guess which one is going to die out first????

If you do a back of the envelop sums from the last time the TAB provided any reasonable data in their financial accounts Prob 19/20 racing year, as long as Entain NZ continue to take Greyhound racing from Aust, the other two codes will be financially better off when Greyhound racing in NZ is closed down, Im sure they have both done the sums, plus now it is obvious that once the 50/50 split comes there is a fiscal whole to be filled, the other two codes are basically saying its every man for himself, and guess what the 50/50 split looks much better cut 2 ways instead of three.

I would be very surprised if Entain (UK) did not gain one of the 15 Licenses when they are handed out in Feb of 2026. Get ready to have your email invaded with ads for the Entain casino, as the TAB or should i say Entain NZ privacy policy which everyone who has a TAB account has signed up to allows Entain NZ to share your data with Entain Aust who than can share it with the rest of the Entain group. Also check out the TAB NZ financial accounts for 23/24 racing year which are now on TAB website www.tabnz.org very interesting reading income of 160m from the partnership hmmmm in 3 years 50% of that is only 80m, guess there is alot of growth to come in racing and sports wagering in next 3 years???????

My Understanding was that geo blocking was for wagering which is sport and racing, gambling which is effectively casino games would not fall under the geo blocking, hence the government is looking to issue 15 licenses of which most will be taken up by offshore operators. The key here is understanding that with 15 operators able to legally advertise and offer gambling options to the NZ population over time they will aim to change consumer behavior ( that means move gamblers from racing and sport, to pokies, blackjack, poker etc). It appears the racing industry is turning a blind eye to this, I for one think this is a game changer and will over time see a significant drop in gambling related income available for distribution to the racing industry. A further issue which i believe will rear its head further down the line, is that the present community distribution scheme from domestic pokie income will also be impacted. And if i was running Basketball or Tennis or Rugby etc i would be going to the government and saying, why are the profits from gambling on my sport being handed over to the racing industry??? hmmmmmm

Long time reader, first time poster here. It appears to me the real issue as always is Money in this case gambling revenue. The TAB/Entain is keeping quiet as they want the Geo Block to increase margins and hence profit As Winston has given all of the gaming duty back to the industry, The Govt now finds itself in a position of potential online casino gambling, providing a revenue stream much greater than racing, with 15 online casino licenses to be handed out, and the Govt to get the gaming duty plus GST from these (they only get GST from TAB/Entain)by closing Greyhounds down, at the same time as turbo charging online casinos and there legitimacy via a license regime not to mention allowing casinos to advertise, the Govt stands to win from a change of gambling habits mainly in the younger set from Race betting to casino gambling. Thus the Greyhounds are the first casualty, the other codes will be in a world of pain once the Winston years are over, as they will find it very hard to compete for the gambling dollar against 15 online casinos which will be providing the Govt of the day with much more revenue than Racing.