The Centaur

The purpose and function of setting up the TAB was to fund the Racing Industry. That is clearly stated in the Racing Act even now. No one objects to some sort of partnering or contract deal if its sound. However........ The Racing Act states: 4)TAB NZ must not enter into a partnering arrangement without written approval of the Minister. (5)In deciding whether to grant approval under subsection (4), the Minister must take into account— (a)the purposes of this Act; and (b)the objectives and functions of TAB NZ. ------------------------------------------- Any partnering deal must adhere to these first principles. The deal from the scant information provided falls over before the first base. The objectives and functions of Entain are to return profit to shareholders. This in practice will directly conflict with the objectives of the TAB. Therefore any deal must be consistent with the Act.

The whole idea was that bookmakers were undesirable be it legal or illegal. https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/racing-horse/page-8 The public in 1949 had a say. Contrast that to now.... the TAB which the public authorized is secretly and illegally being passed to overseas bookmaker control. Where is the Kiwi "we can do it" spirit. Back in 1951 New Zealand pioneered the TAB. We didn't need overseas help .. we did it. Its just pathetic that we need an outfit like Ladbrokes which has been fleecing punters for years. n.b. the link above leads to other interesting historical facts about NZ's racing history.

ACCUSATION and I stand by it. The Entain offer to keep the current TAB staff for 2 years is a straight out bribe. Definition: bribery, the act of promising, giving, receiving, or agreeing to receive money or some other item of value with the corrupt aim of influencing a public official in the discharge of his official duties. TAB management are heavily involved influencing the racing minister and his officials and by reports will benefit with a guarantee of two years employment.

H'mm here is another site explaining eSports betting. https://www.esportsbets.com/news/unstoppable-future-of-esports-betting/ I am certain now that Entain's attempt to gain a monopoly on it in New Zealand is the real explanation for their bid. They couldn't care a fig about horse racing. I don't think the gambling act or racing act was ever written with eSports betting in mind. Lotto and Sky casino may object as Entain seems to be doing it via the back door. eSports has also nothing to do with sport nz so where does the income or commission belong? Could be ladbrokes will just assign it all to themselves.

Given that Entain wants to delve right into esports why are NZTR promoting this when some are saying esports is a threat to racing. Are NZTR that stupid?....perhaps they are.

Although TAB offers some esport betting I know nothing about it. I see Entain/Ladbrokes are heavily investing in esports. Recently they purchased a New Zealand outfit Sportsflare a software development startup. https://sportsflare.io/ https://igamingbusiness.com/strategy/ma/entain-to-acquire-esports-betting-developer-sportsflare/ Several pundits are saying esports will be a threat to horse racing https://www.g7r.com/esports/esports-growth-threatens-horse-racing-industry/ and indeed the sportsflare crowd are very bullish Esports betting to displace traditional sports wagering Hearne sees a future world where esports betting will match or displace traditional sports betting. Gamers can bet on games like CS:GO, LoL, or Dota2 or play head to head in games of Fortnite, Call of Duty, and many new games to come against millions of other like-minded gamers around the world. Add to that tournaments and events --------------------------------------- However there are warnings As esports has become increasingly mainstream and esports betting is widely accessible, it is important to understand the potential risks. Social influences can entice young esports players into gambling. Advertising techniques used by gambling operators are different to those used for traditional sports which have older audiences. Rather than getting people to sign up by offering free bets, esports betting sites use social media posts featuring gifs and memes that are funny and shareable. They don’t look like commercial content and young people – who may have had no previous interest in gambling – can be unwittingly drawn into esports betting. Another risk is a lack of esports knowledge when betting. Most esports games, like DOTA 2 or League of Legends, are quite complex and can be hard to understand without an in-depth knowledge of the games. A further concern with esports betting is match fixing, and the lack of proper anti-fraud and cheating mechanisms in place. Unethical practices seen in the industry include slowing opponents down using technology to interrupt their internet connection, taking drugs to speed up play or players choosing to lose. Finally, there is a risk of gambling addiction among people who play video games. One of the main drivers of this is loot boxes which can be earned during the game or bought with real money. The contents are hidden until after purchase with a small chance at obtaining rare items, similar to hitting a jackpot in gambling. Players are encouraged to purchase as many of these as possible, and the amount of money spent can spiral out of control.

From the Racing Act. (5) TAB NZ must publish a copy of its business plan on an Internet site maintained by or on behalf of TAB NZ. The idea obviously is for all sectors depending on funding from the TAB to know and have some input into what the TAB intends. If TAB is to operate in conjunction with Ladbrokes then all aspects of this arrangement different to the current setup must be displayed on the website.

Exactly. I don't see there being ever any invitation for consultation on the deal only for this minor point and little time given. This whole deal is getting messy. I can see the lady Andree Froude from the harmful gambling outfit point that Entain brings nothing to the country except a desperate effort to extract an extra $60m profit from young people betting on sport. Obviously people will be made aware of Entain's other brands so in actual fact more money will be leaving NZ. Do we know what the % split in profit with sport will be in 2 years time given sport will have much more betting than now?

I found this clause in the Racing Act intriguing. (3) Rules made by TAB NZ under this section may provide that, if there is racing betting on a race, bets may be placed up to 20 seconds after the race starts. Now the Act says the TAB bookie may layoff bets elsewhere. Something I find is happening regularly on the NZ tote. Therefore are there two sets of closing times? One for all punters and another for the TAB bookie to get on 20 seconds after everybody else and cancel previous bets That being the case the layoff process could be automated given the final pool size and betting data on each horse.

Actually you bring up a good point re commingling. I can't see Tabcorp accommodating Ladbrokes their competitor in Australia. I don't think Ladbrokes care much about tote betting anyway their product seems to be best tote which is the best tote price paid out on 3 Australian totes. In other words a form of bookmaking and really highly questionable legally. You say leave it to the experts but I heard an interview with Darin Balcombe the 2ic at NZTR and we wasn't fully informed about the deal. The Racing Act says.... (4) TAB NZ must consult each racing code and the Racing Integrity Board before making, amending, or revoking rules under this section.

Well it seems to be OK in some parts of Australia. I'm a bit curious what the future of harness racing holds. There would seem little post race emphasis on those horses if that's a diplomatic way saying it. More prize money towards owners of horses and greyhounds who have a record rehoming is needed.

Israel is the country that should be sanctioned. Could it be that the Israel lobby which finances the politicians in Washington is why it's not?

Last years Derby also won by a Venezuelan jockey Sonny Leon. This 1971 story on winner Canonero interesting https://ilovehorses.net/history-2/legendary-dark-horse-canonero-ii/

Both jockey and trainer from Venezuela. Big connection you would think.

It showed that the American people don't have anything against Venuzuela. Then why the draconian sanctions by USA against that country? Against a whole lot of other countries as well e.g. Cuba and Syria. The Syria sanctions the most disgusting of all. Syrian have just lost thousands in tragic earthquakes plus trying to recover from disastrous civil wars spurred on by US support to terrorists. The US policy is to prevent post war reconstruction of Syria just because Israel sits not far way. How cruel and unjust not to mention criminal can that be.

The way I see it the conflict of interest is a huge scandal. Reading the piece above about the history of McKenzie we see he had 6 years with Esportif (now Wasserman). Apparently TAB still been relying on McKenzie input. So we have the duo McKenzie and Sharrock linked through Esportif to Ladbrokes. Not hard to assume McKenzie and Sharrock have been putting their heads together and its nothing to do with racing. How naive can racing hierarchy be if they believe that income from sports betting will always flow through to racing.

She's probably planning the birthday party for her horses if the best season win div courtesy of Light Up holds up and the big feed prize comes through

Investors in USA are eyeing up the opportunities from sports broadcasting when linked to sports betting. Bruce Sharrock had some sort of stake in Espotif a sports management company. In 2022 this company was merged with Wasserman a US sports marketing and marketing enterprise which immediately launched a rugby division. Wasserman are doing various deals with sports betting firms such as Ladbrokes e.g. https://insidersport.com/2023/03/14/ladbrokes-channel-5-wasserman/ So the link is there Sport, TV, Sports betting. and right in amongst all that is Bruce Sharrock and one has to ask is Sharrock conflicted? With the help of Sharrock Entain will have a back door entry into NZ sports broadcasting adjacent to monopoly sports betting. Its all to do with sports betting.

Perhaps someone can oblige. Have these groups who depend on TAB payout been consulted?? Jockeys Association? Trainers Association? Owners Federation? Breeders Association? Club managers?

What a load of BS. $2B US turnover is an absolute lie. Business turnover and gambling turnover are two hugely different things. Think of a casino. How many times is the same dollar turned over at the pokies, roulette, blackjack etc. The amount would be staggering. A whole lot different to what's taken in at the end of the day. OK the list of roles is impressive but when it comes to racing his crossover into sports doesn't help racing.

What gets me is that we can't get past the basics. 1. What does a partnering arrangement entail ? Putting out the requirements does not cut across so called confidentiality agreements. Is it really a partnering deal in the first place? 2. Anyone explain? Top managers were put in place supposedly because of their credentials to turn the business around. Their way of turning things around is - admit they know nothing therefore get in an overseas parasitic outfit to do their jobs. Great.... their expertise is in finding out they know nothing. I could have told them that from day one - FOR FREE. 3. I don't know if its racing peoples fault but these managerial imports come in assuming racing people are stupid and themselves blessed with some magical gift. I will say though coming in at a huge salary then get an overseas outfit to do their work is absolute genius. If we could get past the basics then perhaps some solid examination could take place.

Its taken the great Messara advocate more than 5 weeks to respond to anything about the Entain deal. Most noticeable is that he hasn't given any reasons for supporting it or breaking down the deal into how its going to operate. Why the silence? Given his previous pieces I would have thought he would be shouting from the roof tops about it.

What's all that about? The Waikato bit.

Yeah its the same for everything. Go to a lawyer and you start a whole new conflict with greedy lawyers. What gets me is that as long as I can remember club committees, racing boards, directors etc etc. all have seemingly very successful business persons, self appointed experts all keen to portray their credentials but when it comes to a decision on racing they are all quiet. They may be knowledgeable in their own business but when it comes to racing basically zero so don't want to a party to a wrong decision.

I've just about scratched every hair out of my head trying to figure out this Entain deal. Some further points. The Ladbrokes website very underwhelming. Not saying its worse than NZTAB (nothing could be worse) but hardly inspiring. One possible motive for Entain is the potential of sports betting. Racing will have less leverage with Entain than currently with NZTAB meaning profit from sports will flow directly to sport. With NZTR CEO and Chairman involved in sports to them it doesn't matter how profits are split. If Entain are to take over the running of NZTAB without job losses there will be many being paid for doing nothing. The risks to sport is minimal but the risk to racing huge.