That incumbent Tabcorp won the battle for the Victorian wagering licence was no shock. That it managed to secure a deal for 20 years, the equivalent of several lifetimes in the wagering world, was a surprise. What it gives Tabcorp is a long-term exclusive hold on the retail and parimutuel betting licence in Victoria, extending a position it has held since The strings that have linked the Victorian racing industry and Tabcorp ever since the latter was privatised 30 years ago have been cut.
Tabcorp can now do what it likes with its retail product. The market has already made its call on whether this is a good deal for Tabcorp, with its shares surging some 25 per cent by lunchtime, recovering the losses it had incurred since October. This was much-needed good news for a company struggling for traction ever since the demerger which saw its wagering and media assets cut from the far more profitable lottery arm in Several suitors have circled the wagering and media business, which has sought to redefine itself in a hyper-competitive wagering industry.
In comparison, overall wagering on Australian thoroughbred racing has more than doubled in that time frame. Still, the New Zealand market is far less mature with the opportunity that Entain can develop a monopoly. Because of those circumstances, the Victorian deal was one Tabcorp could not afford to lose. There were a couple of major rivals for the Victorian licence, but in the end Tabcorp was the only one who valued exclusivity.
In , Such a change in punter behaviour would have been impossible to predict back then. There have been massive changes in wagering regulation, while technological changes, in particular the smartphone, revolutionised betting. So how can we know what the betting landscape in Australia might look like in five years, let alone in ?
Certainly, it should now be uninhibited by its relationship with the government. Launched in , the Straight is a subscription-based digital publication featuring in-depth coverage of the Australian racing, wagering and breeding industries.
