Bookies dodge racing data fees bullet

Proposed fee hikes of up to 600 per cent from approved wholesalers for the cost of selling racing data to bookmakers have been scrapped in a move that wagering industry insiders claim will save some small-turnover operators from going out of business.

The Straight has learned wholesalers have backed down from implementing such a steep increase, with bookmakers confirming any new additional charges “will now be relatively minor”.

The decision will provide smaller online bookmakers with some financial breathing space amid ongoing race fields fees, point of consumption taxes and a potential rise in charges for trading on AFL matches.

“A good result for bookmakers – a welcome relief, especially for smaller bookmakers who have been struggling to stay viable during a wagering downturn,” a source familiar with the situation told The Straight.

It comes as Racing Australia confirmed it had withdrawn from its role as a wholesaler of industry data.

That move seemingly prompted significant price hikes from other wholesalers which had raised concerns with at least two state authorities and suggestions as many as 10 bookmakers could be forced out of business.

Several bookmakers contacted by The Straight over the past month confirmed potential increases of more than 600 per cent had been tabled from wholesalers for accessing the data required to run their businesses.

They had been told the revised charges – in some instances up from $850 to more than $5000 per month – had been passed on from wholesalers in response to a change of business approach from Racing Australia (RA)

“A few years ago, they were charging $850 and there were only 20 bookmakers. There’s 100 bookmakers now. I don’t understand how the costs could have gone up that much,” the source said.

In a bid to have their case heard, the affected bookmakers approached Australia’s most influential principal racing authorities (PRAs) – Racing NSW, Racing Victoria (RV) and Racing Queensland (RQ) – to try to resolve the issue.

Bookmakers believed Racing Australia had driven these spikes in fees, but the national regulator said that while a new pricing structure was being put in place, it did not represent anywhere near the increases bookmakers are reporting.

“There have been three wholesalers in the Racing Materials space since 2009/2010, namely Mediality, BettorData and Racing Australia,” RA chief executive Paul Eriksson said in a statement to this publication.

“Racing Australia has decided to step back from the wholesaler space and focus on compliance to ensure that all entities receiving Australian Racing Materials are known, licensed to do so and contribute a reasonable fee back to the industry.

“To that end Racing Australia has engaged with the wholesalers to establish a new model. Racing Australia has appointed a number of wholesalers, subject to their execution of the new wholesaler agreements, to provide Racing Materials to the market.”

RA said the same agreement and price was being agreed with each wholesaler, but “how they price the Racing Materials for supply to the end user is entirely in the hands of the wholesaler”.

“The pricing structure was initially provided to the existing wholesalers in July 2024 for comment and then more recently in November 2024. No negative feedback has been received from the wholesalers on the pricing model,” Eriksson said.

“Racing Australia is aware that both Racing Queensland and Racing Victoria have been approached by a number of bookmakers flagging concerns about price increases.”

RA has denied receiving any first-hand complaints about price increases.

“We have not received any direct approach regarding this nor are we aware of what the specific price increases purportedly are, having been advised of vague numbers of increases from $800 per month to $5000 per month,” Eriksson said.

“I reiterate that Racing Australia cannot control what the wholesalers are charging.”

Eriksson categorically rejected any suggestions of catastrophic price increases from Racing Australia.

*Racing Australia chief executive Paul Eriksson. (Photo: Racing Australia)*

“The average rates put forward in the pricing model are significantly below the original prices from 2009/2010/2011 plus CPI,” he said.

“The proposed pricing model is stratified by turnover level and meeting type. Racing Australia is undertaking a further review of the pricing model to consider further pricing levels which has delayed the finalisation of the wholesaler agreements.”

In an era of declining wagering figures on racing, it’s understood RV and RQ were concerned a potential cost rise that some bookmakers described as “price gouging” had the potential to be counter-productive.

The two PRAs have been united on the issue on the basis that it is in the industry’s best interests to provide as much data available as possible to customers.

“Revenue’s down so why would we stop people getting this data? As an industry, surely we would want this data to be in as many places as possible,” the source said.

The supply of racing data includes everything from fields, results, trainer and jockey information to the creation of formguides. It is separate from the race fields fees bookmakers pay to PRAs. These have been charged since 2012.

Adding a layer of complexity to the proposed fees increase, The Straight understands that some wagering technology platforms are circumventing wholesalers to source the necessary data without paying for it.

It is not known how those companies gain access to the data but they are potentially breaching copyright law.

The Straight understands that because the data is owned by individual PRAs and not RA, the national regulator cannot legally challenge its use by “rogue” operators.

Therefore, it is up to each state to launch action through the courts.

But this would seem an unlikely scenario – especially on the part of RV and Racing Queensland – who are eager for punters to access as much information in as many wagering and media outlets as possible.

“There’s no way they’re going to prosecute anyone from getting the data out,” the source said.

But Racing Australia said part of its move away from a wholesale role was to ensure greater compliance.

Bookmakers such as Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and the TAB are in a position to more easily absorb significant operating costs because their businesses are run at a much larger scale, for some smaller operators a further increase in overheads might have been the death knell for those trying to stay afloat.

“Racing Australia has decided to step back from the wholesaler space and focus on compliance to ensure that all entities receiving Australian Racing Materials are known, licensed to do so and contribute a reasonable fee back to the industry” – Racing Australia chief executive Paul Eriksson

Mergers, buyouts and closures have been an increasing part of the Australian wagering landscape for the past 12 months, from a pure profit perspective the industry is bracing for more bookmakers to fall over.

While there is a broad acceptance that further rationalisation is inevitable, prohibitive data costs were likely to accelerate the demise of online operators who are trying to survive without the marketing reach of Australia’s best-known bookmaking brands.

Racing Australia defended its decision to move away from its role in wholesaling data to bookmakers.

“It is not Racing Australia’s intention to add cost to the market and as has been stated above the average price being charged to the wholesalers will be significantly lower than the original prices plus CPI,” Eriksson said.

“What the new structure will bring is accountability, visibility of who is receiving Australian Racing Materials and competition amongst the wholesalers which can only be good for the market.”

Bookies dodge racing data fees bullet

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