Tabcorp CEO Concerned With Racing Victoria's Promotion Of Corporate Bookmakers

Australian gambling firm Tabcorp CEO David Attenborough "raised new questions" about racing.com's promotion of corporate bookmakers, saying that the broadcaster is "undermining the funding of Victorian racing," according to Patrick Bartley of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Racing.com is a joint venture between the Victorian racing industry and Seven West Media. It recently entered into new sponsorship arrangements with Northern Territory-licensed corporate bookmakers Sportsbet, CrownBet and Bet365. Attenborough said that the Victorian TAB returns 9.6 cents from every dollar to the racing industry on a tote bet and 7.5 cents on a TAB fixed odds bet. The equivalent figure for corporate bookmakers is 2.8 cents and "only for bets placed on Victorian racing." Attenborough: "At the moment, we have our differences with racing.com on the way that they're supporting the sustainable funding of racing. I struggle to understand the heavy promotion of a model that undermines the actual funding of racing" (SMH, 6/28).