NZ Racing Sells the Golden Goose to Entain

[Chief Stipe]

 

 

How New Zealand racing ‘sold the farm’ to Entain and left Tabcorp at the altar

When New Zealand’s Minister For Racing Kieran McAnulty signs off on a 25-year multi-billion dollar deal for Entain to take over the country’s wagering licence, he will deliver a once-in-a-lifetime financial boost to the thoroughbred industry.

New Zealand Racing has received a 25-year commitment from Entain. (Illustration by Sproule Sports Focus)

In the wake of John Messara’s landmark 2018 report into the troubles of the New Zealand racing industry, Tabcorp was seen as having an open shot for the licence to run wagering in the country.

The path was laid for Tabcorp to waltz in and add another dominion to the empire, giving the publicly listed Australian corporation a much-needed boost to its international profile.

It had even been reported that a deal between Tabcorp and the New Zealand Racing industry was at an advanced stage of negotiation, but when details of that deal, which was significantly inferior to the one Entain has now put forward, were leaked, administrators and legislators got cold feet.

It then became a truly competitive process, a battle between Tabcorp, Sportsbet and Entain after BetR had opted out at an early stage. The result, announced last month, has been a prospective 25-year commitment from Entain, in what is a game-changing deal for New Zealand racing.

The headline numbers hit all the right notes. There will be NZ$160 million (US$98 million) up front for the deal, plus a minimum guarantee of NZ$1 billion (US$614 million) over the first five years. There is also a $NZ100 million (US$61.4 million) sweetener to be paid if the New Zealand government passes geo-blocking legislation which would give the new Entain-powered entity a virtual monopoly in a potential market of five million people.

The final deal is now before Kieran McAnulty, the Minister For Racing and former bookmaker with the NZ TAB, for final approval but his assent is seen as a fait accompli.

 

Kieran McAnulty (left) with connections of Probabeel at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year awards. (Photo by Nicole Troost)

For many involved in racing and wagering, it is viewed as the right solution at the right time. The broader public sentiment surrounding TAB NZ has diminished as the relative riches enjoyed by racing bodies in a much more mature Australian wagering environment have become apparent.

Meanwhile, overseas corporate bookmakers, particularly Bet365, have made strong inroads with New Zealand punters, further undermining financial returns from the NZ TAB.

The way which the Trackside media product has been managed in recent years has also been cited as a reason for reform. There is considerable anecdotal evidence that New Zealand punters have become less interested in the local product as a result and this has concerned stakeholders.

Entain has used this and its burgeoning pedigree in the media space, chiefly through its Ladbrokes content offering in Australia, as a key ‘non-financial’ consideration for its bid.

Every deal has its costs and there has, of course, been trepidation and misgivings from some quarters.

“Once you have done this, you can never undo it,” one source said. “You can’t put the machine back together.”

The length of the deal has been questioned, perhaps understandably when you consider Entain has only existed as a corporate brand since 2020, yet it has put forward a deal which will take New Zealand racing, with its long history, in a commercial marriage until 2048.  

There are those whowould prefer a home-built solution, rather than one imported from overseas, while others are concerned whether the flood of money from the deal simply goes to those who are already doing particularly well out of New Zealand racing.

But that all depends on where the money is spent. 

Firstly, the upfront NZ$160 million payment will undoubtedly help set the new company up for success as well as provide a sugar hit in terms of infrastructure investment for the broader racing industry. It will enable the industry to invest into areas neglected under the previous funding model and, as one source put it, ‘fix a whole lot of things that need fixing’.

The NZ$1 billion guarantee, the equivalent of NZ$200 million (US$123 million) a year in the formative years of the new marriage, will be the aspect which helps underwrite future funding for prize money, the lifeblood of the industry.

The NZ$200 million would be a NZ$60 million (US$37 million) a year increase on what the NZ TAB contributed to the broader industry last financial year. Given the thoroughbred industry currently represents about 55 per cent of the wagering market, the respective annual uplift for it in terms of revenue would be in the realms of NZ$35 million (US$21 million), or 30 per cent of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing’s (NZTR’s) current revenue.

Nobody at NZTR is willing to put the cart before the horse and speculate ahead of McAnulty’s decision what the extra cash means to prize money but reporting elsewhere, chiefly through noted New Zealand journalist Michael Guerin, suggests the changes will be far-reaching.

Minimum prize money for thoroughbred races is expected to increase from $14,000 to $20,000, underpinning the bottom end of the industry, but it is also highly likely New Zealand’s best races will get a much-needed boost.

 

G1 New Zealand Derby winner Sharp 'N' Smart. (Photo by Trish Dunell)

The average prize money for a Group 1 race in New Zealand has lagged well below that of Australia for many years and that is expected to be addressed, while minimum prize money for premier Saturday racing in Auckland is expected to be boosted to around $80,000 by the time Ellerslie re-opens later this year.

That is well short of the Saturday minimum of $150,000 offered in Sydney, but still an enormous incentive for those trainers and owners with quality horses to keep them racing at home, rather than selling to Australia or Hong Kong.

Logic would say that if racing returns to New Zealand owners through prize money are going to increase by 30-40 per cent, then we can expect the value of bloodstock to increase at similar levels.

While New Zealand has been famous for exporting its best thoroughbred talent for generations, it has become a particular commercial reality in the past 10 years to the detriment of the local racing industry.

Suddenly, those previously compelled to ‘sell the good ones’ overseas might be convinced to chance their arm at the larger prize money available at home, forcing prices and competition up for investors from Australia, Hong Kong and elsewhere, be it on the private market or through yearling or breeze-up sales.

 

Aerovelocity, one of many Hong Kong stars sourced from New Zealand. (Photo by HKJC)

There is also the prospect of that additional NZ$100 million should ‘geo-blocking’ be enacted by the New Zealand parliament. Due to the current political cycle – there is an election due in September – that is unlikely to happen until 2024, but it would be a huge boost for the new Entain-powered wagering product.

It will set them up with a monopoly for the foreseeable future, with safeguards apparently set to be put in place for punters around minimum bet limits to provide a fair betting environment.

There are cases for and against betting monopolies. Certainly, Hong Kong and Japanese racing benefit from the monopoly models which help power their racing industries, while Australia’s ‘free-for-all’ corporate bookmaker approach has led to increased returns, greater innovation, but complexity when it comes to taxation and regulation.

The Entain deal allows New Zealand racing to benefit from much of the corporate bookmaker innovation that has happened across the Tasman, while having the security of ongoing funding. It also gives the industry a five-year window to get its house in order in terms of prize money, infrastructure, media and marketing, aspects which have been sorely neglected in the past decade.

The pending agreement is a massive feather in the cap for Entain, which has battled to erode the dual dominance of Sportsbet and Tabcorp in Australia, where it has been the third wheel for some time. It tried to buy Tabcorp’s wagering and media arm for AU$3.5 billion (US$2.3 billion) in 2021 but having failed on that front has changed tack with the New Zealand deal.

It certainly puts Entain in a stronger position for consideration for the Victorian wagering licence, currently held by Tabcorp, which is due to expire in August 2024.

That deal is a very different one, with the Victorian wagering environment much more mature and the racing industry not in need of a ’white knight’ as has been the case in New Zealand.

The current Victorian joint venture wagering agreement returned $129 million to Racing Victoria last financial year, around 33 per cent of its overall wagering revenue. RV and the Victorian government will be looking for improved returns from any prospective partner going forward and if Entain can prove its credentials in that area through its New Zealand deal, then there is no reason to think they can’t parlay their win across the Tasman into a major success in Victoria.

Winning the New Zealand bid shows that Entain is worthy of a seat at the table in a Victorian process, which by all reports, is very much still an open question despite a looming deadline.

 

 

The Australian tote is dying, but does anybody care?

 

[Honestjohn]

Mcanutty is a disaster. 

 

Hj

[Special Agent]

The more you read the worse it gets.  What makes the NZTR Board think this is a silver bullet?

[Assange]

1 hour ago, Special Agent said:

The more you read the worse it gets.  What makes the NZTR Board think this is a silver bullet?

Exactly. The headline says it all. How long do you think it will take Sharrock and co to burn through $160 million?  I'm picking a couple of years at best. 

[The Centaur]

The logic of some industry stalwarts baffles me. On the one hand they go on how incompetent the TAB has been then on the other assume TAB have got the expertise to make such a significant decision for the racing industry.

The TAB board has been appointed to run the TAB by the government. I can't see how legally they can give up the asset (wagering licence) and pass it on to an overseas outfit. If that is to happen, given the history of parliament debate around TAB and wagering then the decision should only be made by the government after allowing scrutiny from parliament.

There are so many questions about this deal mostly not mentioned yet I can't see how any decision can be made within 6 months.

 

[The Centaur]

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.

[Chief Stipe]

Presumably the $200m return to racing per annum is over and above what by law has to be returned to national sports organisations.