Seven days in … wagering – Gone to the dogs

In this edition:

• Follow the money: Why greyhound advocates want Kiwi and Tassie punters banned from betting on the dogs
• ‘A crazy ride to the moon.’ – Yolo bids farewell to the grey market and aims to take crypto betting into the regulated market
• Betr not beaten, vows to continue PointsBet fight
• Rytenskild and Tabcorp settle dismissal case

What does the Australian wagering landscape look like without greyhound racing?

It is a fairly brutal question, with a host of implications, but one which is no doubt being modelled in the corporate headquarters of all of Australia’s bookies.

Regardless of the moral position which people may hold on greyhound racing, the code is under massive political scrutiny. The Australian Capital Territory banned it in 2018 with Tasmania set to follow suit in 2029.

There is a huge spotlight on the industry in New South Wales, while Western Australia announced its own parliamentary inquiry last week. There is also the pending ban across the Tasman.

It may not be a desirable outcome for many in racing, particularly those who believe that the two other codes will then come under major scrutiny, but it is a possibility that the wagering industry must be contemplating.

In terms of wagering, greyhound racing turnover surged beyond $10 billion during the pandemic and now makes up anything between 25 and 37.5 per cent of overall racing turnover depending on which Australian state you are in.

The assumption that turnover from greyhounds would just flow into the other codes is problematic for at least a couple of reasons.

Firstly, greyhound racing is a frequency-based racing product. There are around 52,500 greyhound races each year in Australia compared to less than 20,000 thoroughbred races and 16,000 harness races. It is not remotely conceivable that horse racing could triple the number of races it holds.

The question for wagering providers is how do they fill this void? Do they push for greater access to in-play sports betting to achieve this? What does that do for racing?

The other key aspect is that in many ways greyhound racing subsidises the other two codes. It is much cheaper to run, while the various code agreements in each state have put it at a respective disadvantage compared to thoroughbred and harness. Without greyhounds, the commercial realities become even harder.

Greyhound racing advocates are promising to fight the Tasmanian ban with all their might, and the latest suggestion is to hit the Rockliff government where it hurts, in the hip pocket.

The future of greyhound racing is not the only uncertainty in the broader Australian wagering industry. The Straight has spoken a lot about the unregulated market and its impact, both now and moving forward, but could there be uncertainty itself for the grey market?

The likes of Stake, Shuffle and Yolo Group, incidentally all owned in some capacity by Australians, have thrived in grey market jurisdictions, where online wagering and casino regulation does not yet exist.

But intriguingly, this week, the Yolo Group, which operates sportsbet.io and is majority-owned by Aussie Tim Heath, announced it would focus purely on the regulated market. It’s an intriguing first step from one of the major crypto wagering platforms and has been facilitated by extending its licensing from Estonia to the UAE.

Space in the regulated market in Australia is hard fought, as has been shown by the $420 million battle for PointsBet.

As it stands, Betr has 27 per cent of its rival, while Japanese MIXI holds 66 per cent. MIXI won’t let betr sit at the board table, but the Matt Tripp-chaired company is not yet giving up the fight.

Soon after we sent last week’s ‘Seven days in … wagering’ newsletter, it was confirmed that former CEO Adam Rytenskild had settled his unfair dismissal case with Tabcorp. We are not sure who the winner was, but there might be a few powerbrokers who are relieved that their correspondence didn’t see the whole public light.

Enjoy your wagering week,

Regards

Bren O’Brien

Managing Editor and Founder

The Straight