PVL’s parting gift? Questions persist after Tabcorp-Racing NSW agreement

ANALYSIS: Putting the ink on the national tote agreement with Tabcorp could be one of the last things Peter V’landys does as CEO of Racing NSW, but also one of the most consequential.

V’landys begins his temporary tenure as Executive Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission this week, days after he and Tabcorp CEO Gillon McLachlan agreed on the terms of a single parimutuel product.

While he is slated to only spend four months of his long-service leave in the key rugby league role, there is a growing expectation that he will be appointed to lead that sport on a permanent basis, which would end his 22-year tenure in charge of Racing NSW.

V’landys has made his name in both sports as a master dealmaker, and the devil in the detail of the agreement with Tabcorp could prove fundamental to the future of NSW racing.

Tabcorp is yet to confirm what those precise terms may be, only that the deal has been reached.

Among the terms, according to Racing NSW, were an extension of agreements regarding international pooling, free-to-air rights and the continued funding of the Golden Eagle through to 2031, while Racing NSW takes over management of Sky Thoroughbred Central.

V’landys said he expects more revenue for the NSW industry to be generated from the introduction of a National Tote.

“The totalisator is an important part of the wagering market, and the National Tote can further stimulate tote betting through larger pools which make the pools more elastic. This ensures better value and more opportunities for punters,” he said.

Whether there are extra commercial benefits of the agreement is unknown, although any further material contribution to Racing NSW’s bottom line would likely attract the attention of Tabcorp’s shareholders as well as the state’s racing clubs.

Unlike other states, New South Wales’ racing clubs receive direct funding from TAB as part of their distribution agreements.

It has been the decline in these distributions as TAB and the tote have lost market share, which, as the Australian Turf Club acknowledges, has led to their financial challenges.

Racing NSW has provided ‘top ups’ to the ATC over recent years to help offset this decline, but as the club itself concedes in its 2024/25 annual report, which showed 62 per cent of revenue was derived from wagering, changes are needed to its commercial model.

The question, in light of the apparent new national tote agreement, is how the deal impacts club funding,

The ATC, which is now under Racing NSW administration, had been hopeful a national tote may deliver it additional revenue, but it is not expressly clear whether that benefit would return to the clubs or to the industry via the regulator.  

There is some important recent historical context to the circumstances of the deal.

Tabcorp, under previous management, had asked the NSW government in 2024 to review its retail and parimutuel deal in the state, with a view to moving to what it called the ‘level playing field’ models in Victoria and Queensland.  

Under McLachlan, it abandoned that approach, preferring the direct negotiations between the Tabcorp CEO and V’landys regarding the national tote.

Any flow back to Racing NSW from the clubs will only increase the regulator’s influence and commercial might, beyond its already substantial property interests and reserves.

Punters may also ask what is the fuss about a unified tote? There has been no confirmation of lowered take-out rates or increased returns, only that vague term ‘innovation’.

The other aspect that builds Racing NSW’s influence is the control it will gain over Sky Thoroughbred Central.

The NSW programming of the feature racing channel offered by Sky will now be administered from Druitt Street, with a promise it will be “a platform to promote not just the races themselves, but also the horses and participants to showcase the sport to new audiences”.

It’s an interesting strategic step for Racing NSW, which had previously criticised the Victorian ‘owned media’ Racing.com model. There is the possibility that it and Tabcorp could also seek a free-to-air home, something that has previously been mooted and may have more value in the context of pending mainstream wagering restrictions.

Tabcorp has said the ‘control’ element only involves New South Wales programming and it won’t impact other states’ involvement on Thoroughbred Central. Queensland racing signed a 10-year contract with Sky in 2020 and RQ is not fazed by the changes.

If this is the end of the V’landys era, and that is a big if, it is fitting it is done with a deal which Racing NSW looks to have consolidated not only key funding, but also its power over both wagering and media.

The regulator, which will be led on an interim basis by established lieutenant Graeme Hinton, has an even stronger platform to build on regardless of whether the long-term CEO returns in November.