Turnover drop on NZ racing blamed on customers’ move to fixed odds

A 7.7 per cent drop in New Zealand racing turnover during the peak period of March is being chalked off to variance and more customers betting via fixed odds by Entain NZ’s managing director Sam Moncur.

Entain released its monthly figures this week, showing overall turnover on New Zealand thoroughbred racing at $40.8 million in March, down from $44.8 million for the same month last year.

Turnover on the NZB Kiwi dropped from $1.37 million to $1.07 million year-on-year, while overall investment fell for both the Auckland Cup and the NZ Derby.

This is despite the number of active racing customers rising from 109,365 in March 2025 to 121,043 in March 2026.

Moncur said the drop-off in figures was an example that turnover wasn’t the be-all and end-all, and that there were several factors behind it.  

“Turnover used to be the pure measure for racing clubs and the codes, but that was in a world where take-out rates from the various tote pools were fixed at a certain percentage,” he said in his monthly update.

“Tote betting is essentially customers betting against each other, whereas in fixed odds, it’s very much more a case of punter and bookie doing battle.”

He said a run of punter-unfriendly results also contributed to the lower turnover figure.

“How the punt goes on the day for our customers has an effect on turnover. If a string of well-backed favourites salute the judge at a meeting, chances are turnover will be up on a year-on-year basis as our customers take the opportunity to invest their winnings,” he said.

“But that also works the other way. If it’s a tough day for the punters, you may see turnover drop, but the actual revenue from the day would ultimately be a good result for the industry because of the high margins.”

Moncur said that while you would expect the up-and-down days to even out, that doesn’t always happen, but the margins for the business remained strong.

The year-on-year comparisons are interesting, given that Entain was granted a legislative net last June, which effectively bans New Zealanders from betting with overseas providers, giving TAB NZ and its sister betcha brand a virtual monopoly.  

Entain reported average thoroughbred field sizes were up from 10.1 to 10.4 for March, while sports turnover had grown significantly from $89.8 million in March 2025 to $134.7 million last month.