Tabcorp’s decision to shut TAB windows at racetracks across Victoria has prompted another bookie and a harness racing club to take a small but significant step towards filling the void.
Star Sports, an online UK bookmaker operating in Australia since August, has opened for business at a country harness racing track just days after Tabcorp’s on-course departure.
An agreement between the Bendigo Harness Racing Club (BHRC) and Star Sports allows the bookmaker to offer cash transaction options on a selection of bet types that could provide a blueprint for a long-term solution to reinvigorate on-course wagering.
BHRC chief executive Erik Hendrix said he was determined to ensure Lord’s Raceway would not become a racetrack that didn’t offer a face-to-face betting alternative as the code’s regulatory body Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) continues to explore potential wagering partnerships with betting agencies.
“Essentially Harness Racing Victoria would ideally like a large corporate (bookmaker) to come on board as a partner but there’s a fair bit to play out,” he said.
“The situation could go on for another six months or a year without a major corporate supporter and that would be devastating for our community if they couldn’t come to the racetrack and have a bet.”
Hendrix approached Star Sports when it was obvious Tabcorp would abandon its on-course presence within the framework of the company’s renegotiated Victorian wagering licence that came into effect earlier this year.
Under the terms of the new deal, Tabcorp has no obligation to provide on-course TAB facilities at Victorian racetracks.
Racing Victoria (RV) lobbied hard for Tabcorp’s on-course arrangement to be part of the new agreement, but was rebuffed.
Tabcorp continued to have a racetrack presence throughout the Victorian spring carnival, and on-course betting will remain available at selected thoroughbred meetings, but it will be at the industry’s expense, with RV footing the bill until the end of the 2024/25 season.
Tabcorp cited the different wagering habits of punters as one of the reasons for axing a historically long-standing commitment to the racing industry as an on-course alternative to traditional bookmakers.
It says its customers have become more digital-savvy, leading to a decline in turnover at the racetrack.
Hendrix acknowledges that electronic wagering will be the future, but for now he is adamant that racing can’t afford to ignore an existing audience because of technology.
“There's still a lot of that old-school clientele that don’t know how to bet off their phones,” he said.
“And there's still that percentage of the community, especially a lot of our member base who are in the mid-to-older age bracket who prefer that one-on-one contact.”
Tabcorp’s exit has been more immediate for the harness and greyhound codes, with on-course facilities, including electronic betting terminals (EBTs), removed from their racecourses on December 1.
Hendrix said Bendigo harness meetings usually had “one or two (tote) operators” on the floor complemented by two EBTs.
For Shane Ciurleo, general manager of Star Sports’ Australian arm, it’s a case that every problem is an opportunity in disguise.
It provides an affordable marketing exercise that Ciurleo believes is a win-win outcome.
“There's still a lot of that old-school clientele that don’t know how to bet off their phones."
- Erik Hendrix
Ciurleo said Star Sports can expand its reach without competing with the promotional budgets of wagering giants such as Tabcorp, Sportsbet and Entain. At the same time, it solves a short-term predicament that smaller race clubs are facing.
“It's more about us supporting local clubs where the opportunity arises and we’re certainly open to any other opportunities,” Ciurleo said.
“If we don't support the clubs with a wagering option it's just another nail in the coffin for them, isn't it?
“It does give smaller operators like us a chance to get in front of a new audience and that’s certainly how we approach it with the Bendigo Harness Racing Club.
“We're certainly trying to be proactive and we're positive that there's still opportunities in wagering in Australia.
“When we first launched in Australia, we were keen to have an on-course presence and when we first started, we thought that was through the thoroughbreds.
“Obviously, the TAB pulling out has given us a chance.”
Warwick Barr
Ciurleo says having an on-course business will allow Star Sports to engage directly with punters - a part of bookmaking he believes had been lost during the corporate revolution.
“There’s a lot of online bookmakers who aren't interested in putting a face to their brand and being on-course,” he said.
“It's easy to sit behind the computer and offer services online and that's why we think there's an opportunity for us to get on-course and be a bookmaker that people know.
“So we're going to take as many of these opportunities that come across our desk.
“If you sit at home and don't go, well, you never know. So we'd rather be out there having a crack.”
