NZRacing

The outfit Saville has gone to work for is owned by the same outfit who also owns Open Bet. Things that make you go mmmm.

Ha McKenzie organised back in March an investigation into the $6 million bonus gate situation. Promised to supply the Industry with the Independent Investigation findings yet didn't happen. You don't have to be too bright to work out why. Transparency as promised at its best yet again. The place needs someone with wagering experience from overseas to do a forensic financial investigation. Local accountants are nil as they are nil on wagering and get bullshitted to by the TAB and believe it. Investigator would also need to talk to ex employees to be given a head start as to where and why as to areas to look into. 100% the crap that I have heard that would be found would make a Steven King novel look like a fairy tale.

God is he still there?, another liability from Allen's past employtment.

He left end of November. Whoever wrote the heading below is either having a laugh or like the NZ Racing Industry Saville has conned them. He probably put the NZ TAB back 10 years when they were already 10 years behind the opposition. https://igamingbusiness.com/sg-brings-in-nz-tab-veteran-to-lead-trading-operations/ He is a veteran but in the bullshit department not in the wagering world. At least the new Management will no doubt ensure that anyone who was appointed to a managerial position through past workmates,family friends or crawled their way up the ranks with nil wagering and managerial experience and ability will get the chop. That's how the real world works but then again we are talking about the NZ TAB one of the most mismanaged organisations run in NZ over the last few years.

I am still trying to work out how the NZ TAB could be exempted in the Anti Money & counterfeiting Act for financial transations of 10k or more (in line with Aussie) that took effect on August 2019 yet on that same day the NZ TAB informed customers that if 1k was bet or collected photo ID and address details would be required. An Act can be amended but the details must be gazetted for the change to take place obviously in this case that could not have happened. So under NZ Law New Zealanders rights were not recognised. Good to know that the NZ TAB regard themselves above the NZ Law. Once again the old line 'come back and bet with us' even though you won't be treated the same as overseas when betting and collecting your transactions.

I agree with your sentiments on this one. I don't have any problem with large betting customers getting more bang for their buck as that's what Company's have to do reward wise otherwise they will look to other outlets. Unfortunately we continue to read or hear where customers are cut big time wagering wise. Here is the TAB advertising bet with us and not overseas but for a NZ based monopoly they don't offer the service required. A minimum bet to win amount needs to be offered. If an average Greyhound book holds on close 10k a punter should be given a bet to win 1k min as long as they bet a few hours out. The book no doubt opens at around 130% closes at 120% so the opening overlay of 10% factors in any opening price errors as long as you have reasonable pricers. If the odds are out of kilter more than 10% once early trading shows that is the case then a good trader will move accordingly the odds to balance the book. No book should be concerned taking an early bet to lose 1k, its swings and rounadbouts winning and losing wise. Same senario with harness might hold 20k close so minimum bet toi win 10% of 2k and if gallops 40k min bet to win 4k. The book is there to sell bets not candyfloss and it needs to be selling plenty of bets for the wagering platform to pay for itself. I don't think an exclusive product should be offered, give BGP slightly better odds but once again how can you expect customers to come back and bet with you when they are excluded from certain products. Just dumb business practise. I am sure as it is mentioned in the Racing Act that the NZ TAB is bound by the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Main purposes The main purposes of this Act are to—(a)promote the confident and informed participation of businesses, investors, and consumers in the financial markets; and (b)promote and facilitate the development of fair, efficient, and transparent financial markets. You probably couldn't define a betting product overall as fair and transparent when except for a Group type situation your overall customer base isn't offered the same product.

'Coming out' in the media as to a reason why someone leaves their employment is often due to a change in their personal lifestyle so they can move on.

Watched the advert (thanks for posting it). Cringe factor rating 8/10

Was told the other day Radio Trackside will be back in March or April (this year). Hope the info is on the 'Mark'.

Sadly they don't listen to their customers and now they expect them to listen to them crying "come back and bet with us" - yeah right.

Birnie? - nope a female.

Yes I have the same problems which is so bad i have to jump out and got to ROVA. Seriously considering placing bets and the going online later to watch the replay videos on the Code sites or forgetting about it unless at the pub to watch.

the old boys network is still well and truly alive re management of it. Bayliss had appointed to his GM team past working employees from his banking career as did that idiot John Allen from NZ Post and Foreign Affairs. Same with another ex TAB GM in Saville employed ex Aussie workmates to high end positions. They only do it to protect their butts as they know they are clueless for the roles they have. A report on the RIU and JCA was undertaken and n ex Detective was appointed who admitted to someone i know that he had no idea on the racing industry so you ask why would he get appointed ??? because he is close friends with someone on the TAB Board would that have helped?.At least he would have fitted in well with management I guess. There is supposed to be a set criteria for appointments to the Boards of the RIU oddly in this case it didn't apply. Now he is the TAB board member for the RIU? Surely a conflict of interest one would think and once again why appoint someone clueless?? Think I answered that one above. 2015 John Allen gets appointed as CEO the next year a legal company in Wgtn was appointed to do a report on commingling for the TAB. A law firm that changed its name form when John Allen was a partner in the firm. Conflict of interest?? No doubt the company did well getting commissioned work from NZ Post and Foreign Affairs. Yes John Allen one of the best in working the Old Boys Network when getting the boot from previous positions. Pre 1990 the Old Boys Network didn't harm the Industry too badly as racing was booming now you have less interest and idiot management there can only be one end result. And pre Covid it was there to be seen basically trading while broke. The place needs a forensic financial detective to go over it as the CEO and Board have no idea.. NERA-report-on-the-New-Zealand-Racing-Board-authorisation-3-June-2016.pdf

If you have Sky you can freeze the advert go back and record on phone or i-pad and then send to e-mail.

Before they started giving their sob story please bet with us advertisement they should be dropping the deposite card transaction fee on TAB accounts. If you want us to stop betting with overseas outfits then offer the same customer service to your customers (no charge from Aussie bookmakers). Another past idiot of a CEO the ex banker Chris Bayliss had the fee introduced during his time. It produced revenue of a few million money which they needed to fill the void so the poor customers helping out to pay for their incompetence. Fees to one company $2.15 or $0.00 at the other on a $20 deposite. The bottom line is if the customer can get a better deal on an item at one store in town than another to save money its a no brainer where he is going to shop. Punters don't even have to walk down the road to get it just a push of the button. Its not a lot of money eg the fee but it the principal who wants to pay extra just to most times lose your money. Punters want good customer service and performance as in a decent web site not a sob story with the line come and bet with us please. Up your game you clowns.

If Australian trifecta pools and NZ Quaddies are not included in the new betting commingling agreement (currently they are not) then given the above rule I think the Advertising Standards Authority Complaints Board chair would determine that there are grounds to proceed to the Board on a possible breach of the Code's rule. If you proceed with a complaint you just have to try and simplify it as well as you can as no doubt most if not all of the ASA Board members won't be very knowledgeable regarding betting. I haven't seen the advert (there is a God ) but on reading the above posts it would seem the advert would suggest to customers that commingling relates to all tote pools here and in Australia. Tote co-mingled pools would in a perfect wagering world cover - win,place,quinellas,trifecta's,doubles,trebles,quaddies,first 4, pick 6 win, pick 6 place. 10 bet types so if 2 are not commingled the Advert is offering 20% less than what one would expect. 1. It's misleading 2.. Confuse's customers as to thinking aol pools are covered in commingling 3.Exploits customers lack of knowledge 4. Implies inaccuracy,exaggeration & false representation with all the pools not co-mingled. Commingling of betting pools is defined as 'the process where one totalisator organisation combines its wagering pool with another to create one common dividend. With a bigger betting pool , customers can enjoy greater dividend stability and potentially better dividends. If the Trackside advert doesn't stipulate that a certain type of betting pool isn't commingled and there is no reference to that fact on the webite or in the Agency when a customer places a bet then it has to be false and misleading advertising. Typical of the NZ TAB pleading with customers to 'come back and bet with us' but failing in it's customer care of duty to make them aware that the commingling doesn't actually apply to all tote betting products. Non transparent or deceitful you take your pick but double selections accepted. Good luck Curious if you take them to task. I have you at $1.20 to win.

Sadly he lost any credibility when a few days after the launch of the new betting platform and it's performance he tweeted "John Allen take a bow". The working Group appointed in 2015 by the Government to look into the leakage quoted figures of - Around $58 million of gross betting profit (after prizes are paid but before tax is deducted) per year goes offshore from New Zealanders making bets with offshore gambling operators. This represents potential lost income of approximately $40 million to the three racing codes and $5 million to sports organisations. The Working Group included the DIA and John Allen a clueless quinella you would never get paid out on. Word is they used this web site to come up with their numbers https://numbergenerator.org/randomnumbergenerator/1-100 If they got back 20% of what they have lost to overseas over the past few years they will have done well but my mates who have seen that advert pissed themselves, as one said the horse bolted ages ago. No doubt they fail to mention that there is no co-mingling on overseas Trifectas or NZ Quaddies because some clown gave away more in rebates than what they receive so they can't reduce the takeout to equal TAB Corps. Thanks to that moron who did it any Aussie Harness or Greyhound trifecta bet is a waste of time due to the small pools. They are giving away millions in bonus bets which is great for the customer but it gives a false impression of true turnover and sadly they lost track of $6,000,000 of bonus bet transactions over 12 months. Dean McKenzie was going to undertake an independent to look into the matter and report the findings, that was back in March last year. Nothing yet and nothing in the end of year accounts, strange that The DIA briefing the new Racing Minister stated ":The reduced turnover as a result of COVID-19 was unsustainable for TAB NZ, which was at serious risk of insolvency. In response the Government announced a $72.5 million support package on 12 May 2020. The package included $50 million for direct industry support, $20 million towards two synthetic all-weather race tracks2 from the Provincial Growth Fund, and $2.5 million to put the racing package in place and monitor its implementation. @$#k me 28 million of that package was needed to pay suppliers for accounts due prior to Covid lockdown. Covid acceleratted the financial problems bu they were well in the crap prior to it. The bank overdraft sky rocketed prior to Covid to $40 million from around $20 million so add that 20 mill plus the 28 million to debtors owing they were well and truly #@@$#ed pre Covid. Good to see Transparency exists ha yeah right. DIA again to the Minister They left out 'before Covid' was at serious risk of insolvency. Surprise surprise. Sadly it took Covid to cull staff something RITA should have done from day 1. Sadly again it would appear the wrong people were culled. Sucking up Tweet wise and in other ways does pay off obviously. DIA to the Minister yet again shows how #$@#4d they are so when those suck up adverts get played on Trackside grab a violin to play while watching. Bottom line is they have treated their customers with disdain along with the Industry as in service and performance wise and now they play condescending adverts trying to woo back lost customers who moved their business elsewhere to receive better customer service.

If the average win fixed pool on gallops is 20k give a punter 10% bet of that hold to win, same applies to trots and dogs relevant to their individual pools. The deal is they have to bet within 4 -6 hours of book opening. If as a bookmaking operation you can't balance your book to reduce liability on an opening book % of around 130% (15-10% over-run in closing odds) move on. If your odds are near enough on a 130% market and you offer a customer to bet early 10% of average pool hold that should be good wagering practice. Sack your pricing team if your running scared thinking punters are smarter than them. Running scared on a 15% early market overrun early is a bad look. Mate of mine rung the other day to say his bet got cut he is a mug punter, bookies would be lining up to take his betting and that's for anything he wanted on. As you would I have given him a bookie to phone overseas who will look after him as he should be. I got him some good service organised only loser is the NZ Racing Industry who will lose around 300k a year in turnover. Ha no wonder they want a fee from aussie bookies they are getting all their customers. Just as a sideline I have read over the years Brodies posts re his betting cuts (i don't know the guy at all) where people dont believe his treatment re bet cuts I believe him 100% as I know too many in the same situation. Remember as my comment above points out you dont need to be a winning customer to get your bets cut (jesus that sounds stupid but then again we are talking the NZ TAB) Ha ha a losing customer gets bets cut do they want to make money or just keep making themselves look so out of depth in the wagering world. Either that or the NZ TAB are making enough money aleady.

I call bullshit on that claim with the proof that anyone who had any input into a paper like that would know the NZ TAB is Clueless in fixed odds wagering. Co wrote ha ha yeah right.

Sadly the NZ TAB over the past few years and today are so for behind knowing how to operate a successful betting Agency it's a joke. As a monopoly they should be offering a better service than what they do. Mate of mine is restricted and was told if he bets 1 or 2 minutes out from a race he will get more on, no bookmaking firm that knows how to operate well does that. You offer a restricted punter larger bets on opening when your book % is at its highest point and then you adjust your market to compensate the price change to help and balance the book on the restricted punters bet. Basically if you think he is restricted because the punter is a smartie use his betting knowledge to re-adjust what might be a pricing error eg opened too long. You don't give the punter a shit return then use his info to right your pricing stuff up. I think any smart punter knows fully well the management of the TAB as far as punting experience and knowledge go is laughable. The silly bastards don't want nz punters betting overseas yet treat them like imbeciles yeah that will work. The NZ TAB has never been that quick to catch on to how wagering operates in the real world. The only thing they seem to catch onto is when they think "ohh its 10:00am morning tea time, then ohh noon lunchtime, then ohh 3:00pm afternoon tea and finally ohhs its 5:01pm I should have left work 1 min ago. If you want a monopoly situation act like you know how to opererate as one firstly by servicing your customers better. Probably would rate as one if not #1 the worst betting organisation in the World. A $50,000,000 betting platform plus $17 mill a year to operate then $#^ off your customers yes that will help get a return on the platform costs and help profit, yeah right muppets.

Anyone lucky enough to cash in on their balls up? 10. Additionally, RITA applied the Bonus Bet where a customer did make a deposit during that 45-minute window, i.e. the TAB determined that a customer had redeemed the 1 Different customers receive different values for promotional offers. For example, the Complainant appears to be a customer who received a $50 Bonus Bet Offer, while others may have received $20 or $100. A mail merge is done before sending Promotional Emails which inputs the relevant amounts. This is where the data issue occurred. 20/107 9 Offer if they made a deposit for any value ($0.01 or above) during the time period between receiving Emails 2 and 3, effectively honouring the offer as it was mistakenly presented in Email 2 (until the correction was issued)

really not a surprise as in my opinion they are not up to speed with regard to problem gambling as they should be. https://www.asa.co.nz//backend/documents/2020/07/06/20107.pdf

1 December 2018 "Not a bad place" StarStarStarStarStar Former Contractor - Product Manager in Wellington, Wellington Recommends Neutral Outlook No Opinion of CEO I worked at NZ Racing Board for less than a year Pros Different, desire to succeed, cool smart people Cons Cash strapped, legacy of racing Advice to Management Stop trying to do everything organically 8 February 2020 "Good bunch playing catchup" StarStarStarStarStar Former Contractor - Lead Product Designer in Lower Hutt Recommends Positive Outlook Approves of CEO I worked at NZ Racing Board for more than a year Pros Enjoyed my time at NZRB (which is now RITA.) designing the new web and native apps for the TAB Sportsbook. Lots of people there working hard and trying to bring the TAB into the 21st century, but still a few old holdouts in cruise mode resisting change and basically not doing much else. This is a multi storied building/ office with a cafe inside it with OK food. Sometimes healthy, sometimes not. Location is in Petone so if you live in the city, the commute is actually fine because you are gping against the traffic both ways. Food options along Jackson St can be varied but Kilim Kebabs is awesome (and healthy-ish and fresh ;-) Lot's of down to earth people and easy to catch a pint after work with colleagues if that is your thing. From a process and workflow point of view - I worked there during a huge period of transition as we completely overhauled the old tech stack with a new one and redesigned both web and native apps - huge rollercoaster project, so a little hard to comment on what it might be there like now but I imagine now that it's been live for more than a year that things have smoothed out. Overall, enjoyed my time there. Cons No free parking. As mentioned above - some aversion to change and negativity floating around. Cafe food could be better (healthier). "Save yourself - do not work here." StarStarStarStarStar Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Petone Doesn't Recommend Negative Outlook Disapproves of CEO I worked at NZ Racing Board full-time for more than a year Pros Some great people. There is a cafe onsite (still at cost though). The ladies at reception are lovely. The CEO does regular Q&As which is good for culture and transparency. Cons They sold me a different picture when I was interviewed and I stayed on to see through the work I was doing. Had I not had the passion for my work and a few awesome coworkers I would have left a lot sooner. Leadership has the power to choose their favourites, then the whole business revolves around those favourites. No carparking. If they looked after their employees more maybe they will perform better. Majority vote within employees is that this business does not have a bright future despite the huge passion within the industry. Very sexist culture. Do not work here as a female, you will be belittled and patronised. Also, through general conversation, I found out that the person in the same role as me (who started after me) was paid $15k more than I was and his performance was definitely a lot lower. They definitely do not care about their people and it is evident within staff satisfaction and culture. Advice to Management I suggest the CEO and rest of leadership team move on. Bring industry professionals into the picture, but more importantly bring in fresh eyes. Otherwise this organisation will not last long, which will be devasting to the kiwi racing and betting industries. 26 August 2019 Helpful (2) "An okay place to work" StarStarStarStarStar Current Employee - Video Editor in Auckland, Auckland I have been working at NZ Racing Board full-time for more than 3 years Pros If you have an interest in racing or sport you will enjoy working here. You get attend races for free and experience the excitement of a race carnival Majority of the people are cool to work with / everyone gets along pretty well Down time during winter and busy during summer. Cons Very negative work culture / environment Lack of structure and support from managers Managers are stuck in their old ways which can make them difficult to work with Lack of creative freedom Technology is old and always breaking which makes editing anything a lot slower than it should be Lack of parking / have to pay for parking There is a bit of a boys club. 20 October 2018 "Weighed down in bureaucracy, development stiffled" StarStarStarStarStar Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Petone Doesn't Recommend Negative Outlook Disapproves of CEO I have been working at NZ Racing Board full-time for more than 5 years Pros If you like sports, there are TV's throughout the building. Cons Too much management. Technology is old, potential for stagnation very high. 18 May 2016 "Mismanagement lets the organization down." StarStarStarStarStar Current Employee - Anonymous Employee Doesn't Recommend Neutral Outlook I have been working at NZ Racing Board full-time Pros Great bunch of people to work with on the front line. Good atmosphere at the country race meetings. Cons Management - Not interested in the industry - No accountability - Selfserving - Does not adhere to charter Advice to Management Agree fully with the below statement. Leave the frontline people alone to do their work and the organization will run smoothly. 15 September 2013 "Very positive" StarStarStarStarStar Current Contractor - Human Resources Advisor in Wellington, Wellington Recommends Positive Outlook I have been working at NZ Racing Board for less than a year Pros Was made feel part of the team, Good communications, Cons Steep stairs to my office !! No cons for me. · 10 October 2011 · · "Lots of potential but lacking in senior management leadership and good governance." · StarStarStarStarStar · in Wellington, Wellington · Doesn't Recommend · I have been working at NZ Racing Board · Pros · The old-stagers keep the place running whilst fly by nighters come and go and leave trails of promises and unfinished projects. · Cons · Management that talks a good game some times, knows how to write up what they're going to do and achieve - but never/rarely does. · Advice to Management · Finish what you start. Stay long enough to properly learn how to be effective. Call it how it is - up to the Board - not just downplaying junior achievements 11 February 2020 "Nice to work at but little development" StarStarStarStarStar Former Employee - Business Analyst Recommends Neutral Outlook No Opinion of CEO I worked at NZ Racing Board full-time Pros Great people to work with Cons Not many opportunities for development 14 July 2014 Helpful (1) "Great product and potential, crap management and governance" StarStarStarStarStar Former Employee - Anonymous Employee Doesn't Recommend Negative Outlook I worked at NZ Racing Board full-time Pros live sporting action engagement, shop floor people very genuine. The chance to work amongst interesting projects and digital trends was a plus. Watching live sport as it happens good too. Cons A succession of crap managers looking to pad cvs on way to somewhere else. All talk and powerpoint and no substance. They don't last long. And the new ones repeat the old mistakes and fail. No accountability for the missed targets and lost potential. Advice to Management Stay longer than two years. Be more genuine. Get a coherent strategy in place.

The NZ TAB had a Manager, Media and Corporate Communications for years and then it would seem a new position was created 'Head of Public Affairs where work combines government relations, media communications,issue management, corporate and social responsibility, information dissemination and strategic communications advice. The first role at the NZ TAB Ian Long (remember he is an ex work colleague of John Allen) had was Head of Government and Industry Relations. As per the job description a new role established: Head of Government and Industry Relations - Wellington The New Zealand Racing Board is a truly diverse business. We're a totally Kiwi operation and what we do touches the lives of a great number of people the length and breadth of the country. Operating more than 650 TAB retail outlets, as well as our own national television and radio channels, we're an integral part of cities, towns, and communities nationwide. In this newly created role, you'll develop, deliver and lead the NZRB's Government and Industry Stakeholder Management Strategy with a view to protecting and enhancing the reputation of the New Zealand Racing Board. Working closely with the Communications Team you'll be responsible for the development and implementation of a coordinated NZRB Stakeholder Relationship Model and an Government and Industry Relations communications strategy. You'll own key relationships with Ministers, Racing Codes, Clubs, Government and NSOs. With the increased integration of issues between Government and Industry, you will develop a clear strategic agenda through close collaboration with the NZRB Communications team. You'll be experienced in developing long term partnerships, be able to think critically and strategically, and have developed outstanding influencing and communication skills. You'll be a successful people leader who enjoys working collaboratively and openly shares ideas. For further detail about this opportunity please click on the More Details link below to download and view the position description. Applications close on Sunday 13 August 2017. 3 months prior to his appointment at NZ TAB Ian Long was on a month contract supporting the Immigration NZ team (where John Allen was CEO prior to his NZ TAB CEO role) on a range of projects and priorities with a strong internal communications focus. i don't believe his two roles were vital to the NZ TAB and were created at huge expense to the Racing Industry and is a classic case of 'the old boys network' looking after one another. That old boys network did exist in the racing industry decades ago but in today's and recent years given the financial climate of the Racing Industry over recent years it has no place. As his first role at the TAB had in it's job description 'You'll own key relationships with Racing Codes & Clubs' there must be many involved in those two areas that know Ian very very well.

No he wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for John Allen. May 2003 NZ Post media release re John Allen, currently Acting Chief Executive of New Zealand Post, has been appointed Chief Executive, Chairman Rt Hon Jim Bolger announced today. https://postandparcel.info/8226/news/john-allen-appointed-ceo-new-zealand-post/ For more information contact:Ian Long, Senior External Relations Advisor 04 496 4910 or 025 237 9207 ian.long@nzpost.co.nz Head of Public Affairs Company NameRacing Industry Transition Agency Dates Employed Oct 2018 – Present New Zealand Racing Board Head of Government and Industry Relations Company Name New Zealand Racing Board Dates Employed Oct 2017 – Present External Relations Manager Company Name New Zealand Post Dates Employed Mar 2002 – Apr 2006 (John Allen worked at NZ Post from 1994 -2009 and was CEO 2003- 2009) Employment Duration 4 yrs 2 months ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What is Public Affairs? - A definition of "public affairs. Public affairs work combines government relations, media communications,issue management, corporate and social responsibility, information dissemination and strategic communications advice. Practitioners aim to influence public policy, build and maintain a strong reputation and find common ground with stakeholders. E-mail etiquette rules every professional should know: state your full name, title, the company name, and your contact information, including a phone number eg Leave the right impression with your email sign-off Example of poor E-mail etiquette: Warm regards ("Warm regards" is generally reserved for close friends and family and should not be used in professional correspondence. Ian (full name should be included) Head Of Public Affairs (company name and contact information should be listed)