Chief Stipe Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 Free-to-air Trackside boosts betting Much improved signs heading into Entain Year-2 by Brian de Lore Published 25 June 2024 Free-to-air Trackside and aggressive marketing have Entain Managing Director Cameron Rodger smiling broadly after receiving the latest betting figures. A few days ago, he told me, “We are just now in the process of measuring what the move to Free to Air has done to overall trackside audience numbers. This data is still being finalised but to give you a sense of the result – our total Trackside audience on Saturdays is up more than 25% – and the total viewership over the week is up even more.” Cameron added: “It’s more brutal out there than probably anyone could have accurately pictured, not just the betting market but all consumer markets, but what I’m seeing is upside through engaging more customers – we have so many more customers on our books now compared to last year. But we are getting less out of each customer than we had hoped because there is less money in everyone’s pockets. “Through our investment here, we have managed to fill the funnel at a fast rate, so we have had a 21 percent increase in customers, which delivers to us a turnover that’s not in decline. And that increase came after only 17 days of testing from marketing the new app, so that’s tracking really positively. If we had the same customer base we started with, we would be in serious trouble.” The economic downturn may be worldwide, but it is reportedly worse in New Zealand than in Australia. So why is post-COVID betting in Australia estimated to have a 15—to 20 percent downturn, but against that trend, turnover has increased in NZ over the past year? Entain men have a passion for racing The simple one-word answer is Entain. The newbies have introduced a fresh change of direction and taken control of the decision-making at TAB NZ, thus eliminating the non-performing, apathetic administration of the past with an injection of new life. Dean Shannon, Lachlan Fitt, and Cameron Rodger are intelligent people who all have a passion for horse racing, a vital but missing ingredient in most of their predecessors over the previous 20 years. Entain’s partnership with TAB NZ can only be described as ‘game-changing.’ Cameron Rodger doesn’t entirely agree with my assessment that TAB NZ would now be broke. He says: “If the new distributions hadn’t gone through, distributions to the codes would probably have been cut by about $20 million.” Applying that to the thoroughbred industry, the available prizemoney would be 36 percent less than the current level, accompanied by an exodus of the industry comparable to the annual Hajj to Mecca. Cameron Rodger is buoyed by the most recent stats coming to him after a year of placing racing in front of the general public by embracing mainstream media. He elaborated: “Thoroughbred racing in May was up 28 per cent in turnover on the previous year, which is a huge leap forward, and harness was up 15 per cent, and Greyhounds was up eight per cent, and that’s just May. Total active customers in May 2024, was 82,500 against 72,000 the previous May, so we are genuinely thrilled with what we are seeing. June new customers up 15% “As an example, for the month of June thus far, we’ve had two-and-a-half times more account sign-ups than we had in the same period last year. That number is exceeding even our own new customer number forecasts – by just under 15%. “It tells us that the different initiatives we’ve put in place are doing a great job of getting customers in the door which is the critical measure we are chasing, and is especially gratifying this early on.” No one will deny that Entain has made a great effort in year one, but what about sustainability? The first year has passed with a positive pass mark, but everyone with an investment in racing is interested in the long term with consistent growth which will encourage new participants. I put that question to Cameron: “We have a five-year window for a reason, we are not going to be going backwards. If people can see that we are trying our best to find a solution to issues that are not really our issues to solve, hopefully, it shows how serious we are about New Zealand’s future for the long term. “We don’t even have to worry about the turnover right now because we are here for the long haul. I’m not just putting on a brave face, there are genuinely very good signs despite the tough, tough market. Riding out the economic downturn “Without the economic downturn, we would be really flying along. The upshot of this is that we can ride out the cycle now, and distributions won’t be affected. We can keep investing and growing customer numbers. When the economy comes back, we have a great customer base to grow again. “We are up 3.5 percent year-on-year in turnover and gross profit is also up slightly. “Other jurisdictions are down, and we are putting up a helluva fight. It’s genuinely showing us that if we can get these numbers up further, it’s very positive for the future. The best thing we can do at this time is not to try to get more money out of our customers in this economic climate.” When I suggested to Cameron that the problems confronting the breeding industry are just as serious as racing with a historically declining stallion, broodmare and foal population, he responded this way: “We are aware of the problems facing the breeding industry. “The top end seems to look after itself, but there has been a weakening of the middle and bottom end. We are trying to get involved through the Pearl Series. We have looked at the decline of the broodmare band, which can’t be ignored; if you look at the number of stakes-winning mares and progeny going through the sales, it’s on the decline, and good broodmares are getting harder and harder to buy. “Prizemoney increases still catching up” – Cameron Rodger “We do know that increased prizemoney makes a difference over time, but we are trying to think of tactical ways we can engage the breeding and racing industry. I don’t really think that the full upside of the prizemoney injections has yet caught up to all areas of the industry. “I think the time to be investing in the industry is in a downturn, and I know that’s an easy thing to say, and everyone knows that principle, but it’s just a hard thing to do in real terms. The amazing positive we have right now is that we are one of the few sectors where, despite the inflationary pressure, the underlying picture is improving. I do believe that things will improve within a couple of years, but it might be a more extended period of pain than most people thought. I said to Cameron Rodger that we are an apathetic industry with a poor record of helping ourselves and now we are relying on Entain. He replied: “We are not pretending we have a silver bullet. Cameron Rodger: “Lachlan Fitt is a machine; he doesn’t stop” “Lachlan Fitt has been appointed Chairman of the board of Thoroughbred Marketing (NZTM),” he continued. “You won’t find a more passionate foreigner when it comes to the New Zealand industry – he loves it and is a machine; he doesn’t stop. He’s never satisfied and he’s the one that’s driving things here, but we haven’t worked out all the equations yet. The Entain executives have all pledged their allegiance to racing over sport, which is music to the ears of racing, but he did finish the chat by revealing an interesting stat, which comes as a result of advertising on mainstream media: “The turnover on the Warriors has gone from about $400,000 to $620,000 per match involved, so it is about a 50 percent increase.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 Where are or what are the "much improved signs"? 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted June 26 Author Share Posted June 26 The truth is that if you invest for long enough, you're going to end up with some losing stocks. Long term Entain Plc (LON:ENT) shareholders know that all too well, since the share price is down considerably over three years. So they might be feeling emotional about the 63% share price collapse, in that time. And over the last year the share price fell 46%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 16% in the last 90 days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted June 26 Author Share Posted June 26 Time to buy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 How do they know that Trackside audience is up 25%? have they asked everyone in the country if they watched Trackside on Saturday? Make up the figures as he goes along? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 1 hour ago, curious said: Where are or what are the "much improved signs"? 27% increase in positive sounding words! The buying of three new smoke making machines! 4 large packets of Mirror Cleaner! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted June 26 Author Share Posted June 26 43 minutes ago, Brodie said: How do they know that Trackside audience is up 25%? have they asked everyone in the country if they watched Trackside on Saturday? Make up the figures as he goes along? Why wouldn't it be up 25% when they made it free to air again? But watching TV doesn't actually mean you bought anything! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 9 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said: Why wouldn't it be up 25% when they made it free to air again? But watching TV doesn't actually mean you bought anything! They say there has been increase of customers opening accounts? If these 21% opened accounts solely cos they now have free Trackside and coulldnt before when they had to pay, suggests that they may not be wagering too much! I hope that this Cameron Rodger is speaking the truth and the turnover does increase big time as he said if this 21% had not come on board they were in trouble! MR Cameron Rodger, if you want turnover to increase and by a helluva lot more than your 21%, then drop the betting restrictions that you the TAB have imposed, on certain punters? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 1 hour ago, Chief Stipe said: Time to buy? I reckon so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 Haven't got the racing channel on my mum's freeview box, it's an older one, do you have to do a special chanel search or something else to get it, definitely not there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 2 hours ago, Shad said: Haven't got the racing channel on my mum's freeview box, it's an older one, do you have to do a special chanel search or something else to get it, definitely not there. Do you have a aerial or dish on roof ? Uhf Freeview, racing. satellite , a dish no racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 5 hours ago, mikeynz said: Do you have a aerial or dish on roof ? Uhf Freeview, racing. satellite , a dish no racing. Thanks for that, will be a dish I guess, hence no coverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 14 hours ago, Brodie said: How do they know that Trackside audience is up 25% I presume that it would be via the Nielsen Ratings people, for years (we stopped 12 months ago) we were one of their people, The came and wired up our system with their system, all we had to do was for me and partner to click that we were the ones watching.. for this, we got $100 a year in voucher's. https://panels.nielsen.com/us-nielsen-homes/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 14 hours ago, Brodie said: How do they know that Trackside audience is up 25%? have they asked everyone in the country if they watched Trackside on Saturday? Make up the figures as he goes along? What are the Nielsen Ratings? Learn More Information about who watches and listens to content, like music and TV shows, is used to get the Nielsen ratings. Ratings help people who work in TV, radio, and advertising understand how their content is performing—this can be anything from a network comedy to a podcast to a news segment during a given time. A rating is the percentage of a specific population that watched or listened to a piece of content or ad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeynz Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 (edited) 15 hours ago, Brodie said: They say there has been increase of customers opening accounts? If these 21% opened accounts solely cos they now have free Trackside and coulldnt before when they had to pay, suggests that they may not be wagering too much! I hope that this Cameron Rodger is speaking the truth and the turnover does increase big time as he said if this 21% had not come on board they were in trouble! MR Cameron Rodger, if you want turnover to increase and by a helluva lot more than your 21%, then drop the betting restrictions that you the TAB have imposed, on certain punters? They have closed New Zealanders accounts for their aussie sites, that may have something to do with it but I've also noticed they have blocked those 2 sites completely which seems a bit odd.. As for the TV , the question is how many watch Trackside normally, maybe numbers are up, I don't know how many people watch Freeview through UHF, most probably have dishes but there are probably a lot of elderly who may not have changed. Edited June 26 by mikeynz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 Wouldn't believe a word Cameron Rodger says. He's a PR guy through and through only interested in perception rather than substance. Mind you getting Trackside back on Freeview was a positive move. Taking it off it was a regressive move made under an old regime which I and many others pointed out at the time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 16 minutes ago, Mark D said: Mind you getting Trackside back on Freeview was a positive move. Is it really? If we are talking 'getting new punters interested', are they going to be able to self educate themselves, what with a race coming in every 4/5 minutes.. are they going to be able to 'work out some form'? or do they just learn how to lose? quickly or slowly etc... how can newbies best learn? i have 'educated' many over the years.. I Always start by explain how much The House clicks the ticket on each sort of bet!! I have some vary easy to understand games that So Show how that sort of take out$ work... it can be rather amusing to see a understanding of that happening... 'The key' that I always am working towards, is actually encouraging a better understanding of the Actual horse/horses in any race and how that should be a starting point to build on.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark D Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 4 hours ago, Murray Fish said: Is it really? If we are talking 'getting new punters interested', are they going to be able to self educate themselves, what with a race coming in every 4/5 minutes.. are they going to be able to 'work out some form'? or do they just learn how to lose? quickly or slowly etc... how can newbies best learn? i have 'educated' many over the years.. I Always start by explain how much The House clicks the ticket on each sort of bet!! I have some vary easy to understand games that So Show how that sort of take out$ work... it can be rather amusing to see a understanding of that happening... 'The key' that I always am working towards, is actually encouraging a better understanding of the Actual horse/horses in any race and how that should be a starting point to build on.. IMO yes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newmarket Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 People need to get over it, Entain is here to stay. My gambling with the NZ Tab has increased hugely, tomorrow only intend to bet with them, have not bet with Sportsbet for several weeks, and have closed Betfair acc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Centaur Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 The local management has to satisfy head office. No wonder the "glowing reports" The truth is the web site is a disaster. Who wants to go thru the pain of waiting minutes for it to load?? So much confusion like multiple clicks not knowing if you have bet twice then only to find out not at all. I know several people who have just given up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curious Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Entain will no doubt stay but whether or not they can generate enough profit to sustain funding for racing in 4 more years at even half current levels is another question. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Stipe Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 1 hour ago, Newmarket said: People need to get over it, Entain is here to stay. My gambling with the NZ Tab has increased hugely, tomorrow only intend to bet with them, have not bet with Sportsbet for several weeks, and have closed Betfair acc. The sarcasm font is purple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Racing is not front of mind for Entain, sports is their long term focus. Do not be surprised if a 'deal' is done well before the 5 year guarantee is up separating racing and sports. As to the blame game; that goes back a generation, to senior executive who at the time had no issue with sports aligning itself with the TAB which was set up as a monopoly for the benefit of Government and racing..IN THAT ORDER. The 'not so new' website is not nearly as impressive as I was led to believe it would be and is deliberately anti tote, which is bookmaker 101. Will pays are not there so as to enable Entain to avoid arbitrage and the final pool figures are blatantly displayed late. That enables them to keep the bigger punters guessing to a point that it is too late. Last Saturdays feature at Tauranga a good example as any. Malt Time, fixed odds $3, Tote $6, with the win pool showing 28K, approx 1 minute out, then seconds before the off, tote win pool now just shy of 50K and odds now the same, i.e. both $3. The final pool figure is also deleted very quickly after the field has crossed the line. They can bullshit all they want but with todays technology the dividends should be reasonably close to real time, updating at least every 20 seconds in the final 180 seconds before start time. If Entain were genuine they would not be shy about providing the best and most update information for form commentary/lines and dividends/pools at ALL times. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZRacing Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Who is bull 💩ing who? Quote Total active customers in May 2024, was 82,500 against 72,000 the previous May, so we are genuinely thrilled with what we are seeing. Last year Entain reported to it's shareholders 'Active digital customers' were 250,000, that's not allowing for non account holders who walk into betting outlets. Either the NZ TAB gave ramped up account numbers (masters at doing that) to Entain when they were negotiating or Entain ramped up the numbers to shareholder's when looking to do the deal. Entain have said they didn't audit numbers before the deal was struck, which is unbelievable given the cost of the exercise. No wonder Entain's share price has taken a massive dive over the past 12 months. TAB NZ partnership receives Government approval - 07:30:01 23 May 2023 - ENT News article | London Stock Exchange Quote The estimates set out in this announcement have been prepared based on numerous assumptions and forecasts, some of which are outside of Entain's influence and/or control, and is therefore inherently uncertain and there can be no guarantee or assurance that it will be correct. The estimates have not been audited, reviewed, verified or subject to any procedures by Entain's auditors. Undue reliance should not be placed on them and there can be no guarantee or assurance that they will be correct. PowerPoint Presentation (entaingroup.com) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZRacing Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 Thats a worry - NZ having such a high % of casinio action from Entains online sites. Entain_Strategic_Report_2023.pdf (entaingroup.com) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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