The harness and greyhound racing industries are feeling the pain as the major post-pandemic decline in wagering bites, and those in the thoroughbred industry should be taking note, writes Bren O’Brien.
When Greyhound Racing NSW confirmed this week that it would cut its operational budget and prize money for feature racing because of declining wagering revenues, few within the industry were surprised.
Greyhound racing had undergone a massive boom through the pandemic years, and between 2018/19 an 2022/21 overall turnover on NSW greyhound racing alone doubled from $1.5 billion to $3.1 billion.
But since that point, wagering has declined significantly, and in real terms, it has had a hard landing. GRNSW chief executive Rob Macaulay confirmed that revenue from wagering operators, which had been $96 million last year, had fallen by 22.5 per cent across the first nine months.
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