ARB Plans Aggressive Strategy to Combat Exchanges
Members of the Australian Racing Board came out of their meeting Monday with a new aggressive strategy for keeping betting exchanges from operating in Australia. The board will try to convince state governments not to license exchanges--a response to the federal government's decision this summer not to implement a ban.
The possibility of regulated betting exchanges increased last month when Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Limited formed a partnership with leading betting exchange Betfair.
ARB chairman Andrew Ramsden said the board will call on all state and territory governments to ensure that the proper checks and balances are in place to protect the racing industry. He also said the board will be first in line to challenge any license granted to a betting exchange.
"Betting exchanges present the greatest threat to Australian racing as we know it in the 170-year history of our sport," Ramsden said in a prepared statement. "Now that they have said this is a matter for the states, we will be taking the fight up at every level to make sure betting exchanges are shown the door and sent home."
Skybet Inks Deal with Channel 4 Racing
Officials with Skybet have announced a deal to bring interactive betting to Channel 4 Racing. The deal was made with Channel 4's interactive division, 4Interactive, and is another step toward filling the void left by the closure of attheraces in March 2004. Punters with digital satellite services will be able to place bets without missing any of the televised action, a feature that wasn't available through the attheraces service.
The Continuing ATR Saga
Arena Leisure and BSkyB, two of the three partners in the attheraces consortium, confirmed that they're going forward with High Court proceedings against the Racecourse Association and 30 British tracks to recover rebates following the termination of the RCA/attheraces media rights agreement.
attheraces claims that it is due £51.345 million in rebates payable from revenues received from the exploitation of media rights by the racecourses. The agreement was terminated by attheraces March 29, and on April ,5 the Office of Fair Trading declared that the collective grant of certain media rights by the racecourses under the agreement was anti-competitive. The restructured "At The Races" group is not pursuing rebate claims against courses that have signed long-term media rights deals with the new consortium.
Suspicious Dog Bets
Bookmakers in central Ireland came down hard on cheaters after a suspicious betting ring was discovered at one of the country's leading greyhound tracks. The scheme involved text messaging between an individual at a betting shop and another at the popular Shelbourne Park track.
Here's how it worked: A customer would go to the window of a Midland betting shop before a race at Shelbourne. His slip would include the time of the race and the stake amount, usually €200. The betting slip would not have the name of the dog or the trap number. The customer would bring this to the attention of the cashier, and then while the slip was being handed back , the customer would get a text message with the number of the winner in it. The customer would add the winning information back to the cashier, all in a matter of seconds, and his winning bet was placed.
The scheme was broken up after a pattern was detected by a betting shop manager, but the discovery came after bookies were bilked for thousands of euros. An employee of one bookmaker was suspended, and employers are looking into possible collusion. Bookies are consequently nervous about laying bets at any Irish tracks. Ladbrokes recently ceased taking bets on graded races at Harold's Cross, and other bookmakers could follow.
Betdaq, SIS Form New Company
Dublin-based betting exchange Betdaq has announced it will bankroll a newly formed technology company that will link into the computer-assisted starting-price system operated by SIS, as well as provide a hedging facility and direct access to the exchange markets. The new software will link into Winning Odds, which already supplies systems and services to around 200 on-track customers, and will be branded as "Racecourse Data Technologies." Shares will be given to participating bookmakers.
The project, which should be ready for launching by the end of the year, is perceived by some as a means of challenging the overwhelming strength of Betfair, the world's leading exchange. Betfair has a similar agreement with Betlink, the other company involved in the compilation of starting prices.
Winning Odds Director Maurice Lindsay said Wednesday that Betlink's failure to join a single on-course computerized system had prompted his company to look for a solution that would involve bookmakers having a direct stake in the business, and Betdaq's principal, Dermot Desmond, provided the answer.
Paddy Power Race Sponsorship Irks Competitors
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has inked a sponsorship deal as part of racing coverage on RTE in Ireland, and Ladbrokes and Boyle Bookmakers are steaming. The deal covers all 25 days of Irish live racing on the state-owned network, including all the Classics, Galway and Punchestown, plus the Cheltenham festival, and has forced Ladbrokes and Boyle to review their sponsorship commitments to Irish racing.
Jack Mooney, a spokesperson for Ladbrokes, said his company is upset because the deal wasn't offered to other bookmakers. "We are annoyed and disappointed that RTE did not put this out to tender. We consider this unfair," Mooney said. "It's the equivalent of a political party sponsoring a political program. What would the other parties think in such circumstances?"
Cantor Index Joins Forces with Scientific Games
Scientific Games Corporation and Cantor Index announced a partnership to implement and market new proprietary pari-mutuel betting options. Cantor Index will develop new forms of pari-mutuel wagering; Scientific Games Racing will create the betting software as well write the code enabling it to run on tote systems worldwide. The first bet is expected to be a variation of the traditional Pick Six bet in which patrons pick winners in a pre-determined set of six races. With the new bet, fans can pick winners for any set of six (or other number of) races. The parties said the introduction of the new bets is dependent upon regulatory approval.
NHBPA Approves Offshore Wagering Hub
The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association board of directors this month approved plans to launch an offshore wagering hub with a goal of funneling revenue back to horsemen in the United States. During the final session of the HBPA's five-day summer convention in Tigard, Oregon, the board approved a negotiating committee's recommendation to adopt a memorandum of understanding with SimulTech Inc., a shell company that would operate the hub. Consulting firm Stevenson and Associates Inc. will head SimulTech. National HBPA President John Roark said SimulTech LLC should be operating within 60 to 90 days.