Youbet Takes it on the Road
California-based online horse race betting and content provider Youbet.com and Harrah's Louisiana Downs Racetrack Casino are joining forces to help build the online segment of the track's pari-mutuel wagering business. The multi-year marketing partnership breaks new ground for both companies, making Youbet.com the official account wagering provider for Louisiana Downs, a designation that the Harrah's facility will promote aggressively. Track patrons will be encouraged to sign up for Youbet accounts through on-track signage and videos, ads in daily racing programs, point-of-sale promotions and online programs staged from the track's Web site. On the flip-side, Youbet will promote the Bossier City oval's racing cards to its database of customers with double Youbet Advantage points for wagers placed on races every Thursday and Friday at the Harrah's track this year and in 2007.
Victorian Bookmakers: Free At Last
Victorian bookmakers will again be able to offer tote odds services, allowing them to be competitive with interstate corporate bookmakers. Racing Victoria (RV) reversed its position on the issue after revisiting its race fields legislation when CEO Robert Nason left to take a position with Tabcorp. Nason and the RV stewards' department were behind the move to stop bookies from offering the services, citing integrity concerns over pools being manipulated by bookmakers or punters. RV chief steward Des Gleeson said that certain risk management strategies would be worked through with the Victorian Bookmakers Association, and following that, bookmakers will be able to offer tote odds.
Online Betting Tickets in Japan
Rakuten Inc., a Japanese Internet mall operator, has announced that it will form mutually beneficial business alliances with 12 horse racing operators in Japan to sell horse betting tickets via the Internet. The alliance will benefit local race operators by attracting horse racing fans from outside their areas, while Rakuten can cash in on Net users who visit the Web site to buy the betting tickets. Rakuten says it still needs to work on its purchasing system to prevent anyone under 20 years of age from illegally buying the tickets. The company's 12 partners include horse race operators in the Hokkaido, Aichi and Kochi prefectures. Rakuten aims to start sales by the end of the year.
Totesport Has Text Betting
Totesport has launched "Texbet," a new mobile betting system that enables account holders to place bets on horse racing and football with a single SMS message. "Research suggests that 99 million text messages are sent every day in Britain, and although bookmakers have put a lot of finance into mobile phones so far it has mostly been in WAP," spokesman Paul Petrie said. "Now you will be able to have a bet with every phone on every network wherever you are in the country. If you are in the pub and you want £2 or £200 on a football match or a horse you can get the bet on without whoever is set next to you knowing how much you have bet."
The BHB's New Young Chief
British Horseracing Board's 36-year-old finance director, Chris Brand, will take over the helm of the governing body when Greg Nichols leaves his post as chief executive at the end of the month. BHB's directors decided to give the job to Brand in an acting capacity from July 3 until the BHB is merged into the new British Horseracing Authority, expected to come into being on Jan. 1, 2007.
In the meantime, the search for the first BHA chief executive and chairman is about to start, and a nominations panel, comprising BHB chairman Martin Broughton, John Bridgeman, chairman of the Horseracing Regulatory Authority, and Rob Hughes, chairman of the Levy Board, will make the appointments by the end of September. Brand is said to be a prime candidate for chief executive.
New Betting Exchange
Scottish software start-up Fasbet has signed a deal worth £500,000 (US$939,722) with U.S.-based online horse race betting operator BetEHorse.com to bring P2P betting on a large scale to the North American gambling market. With the help of Fasbet's software, BetEHorse.com is launching a new betting exchange site called EHorseX.com. Fasbet was founded 18 months ago by Tom Mathews and Ian Gilfillen. Mathews said the company plans to launch a financial betting package within the next six to eight months.
UNiTAB v. Tabcorp v. Tattersall's
Gaming group Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. launched a takeover bid June 1 for UNiTAB Ltd. that would trump rival lottery/gaming operator Tattersall's Ltd.'s offer. Tabcorp offered A$14.25 per UNiTAB share, assuming Tabcorp shares remain at a value of between A$15 and A$17--either between 0.84 and 0.95 Tabcorp shares per UNiTAB share, or A$8.25 cash and between 0.35 and 0.40 Tabcorp shares per UNiTAB share. Tattersall's offer was at a value of A$12.90--offering 4.33 of its shares for each UNiTAB share, plus A$522 million for an alternative cash offer of A$14 per UNiTAB share.
UNiTAB's board on June 6 rejected Tabcorp's offer, however, stating that it prefers the merger deal with Tattersall's. The A$1.9 billion (US$1.4 billion) bid from Tabcorp would value UNiTAB--the continent's second largest gambling company--at A$14.25 per share, which is 60 cents below its current trading price.
On the other hand, the proposal from Tattersall's, Australia's largest lottery company, values UNiTAB at a lower price--about A$1.7 million, but it would give UNiTAB greater control of its business, with half the board of the newly merged company coming from UNiTAB. The merged company would also have the opportunity to extend its wagering services into Victoria, but only if it is successful in winning the license away from its current holder, Tabcorp.
Tabcorp has now attacked Deloitte Corporate Finance, who conducted an independent review of the merger proposal between UNiTAB and Tatt's, saying it gave UNiTAB an inflated valuation. The report endorsed the proposed A$1.7 billion "merger of equals" in the absence of a higher offer.
UNiTAB chief Dick McIlwain said Tuesday that the attack is doing nothing to help shareholders decide which offer is more attractive and that both companies might want to now consider upping the ante.
Giving Up the Dream
The British government has reportedly given up on its plan to sell the Tote at a discounted value to the Racing Trust following the European Commission's investigation into whether such a sale would constitute an abuse of state aid rules. The government nevertheless still wants to deliver on its manifesto commitment to sell the Tote to "racing," but to do so and still comply with state aid rules, it must sell it at market value. The commission began investigating the matter in June 2005 following lobbying efforts from private British bookmakers who were considered potential bidders for Tote betting shops.