Insight AUSTRALIA
William Hill does not yet have a plan as to how it will deal with the increase in fees, he said. “We are currently assessing the impact of the change and next steps.”
The fee hikes may also help to accelerate a trend in the country’s betting market away from wagering on horses to a broader sports betting model, especially online.
Bill Brown of law firm Rockwell Olivier, predicts that these fee hikes will not necessarily lead to investment back into racing. Brown says “there are no external checks and balances on how the racing controlling bodies spend the money raised.” He says the race fields legislation needs to be re visited so that “the fees are not frittered away on administration rather than on improving the quality of the racing product.”
Overall, the online sports betting market in Australia is booming. The growth has attracted an influx of foreign investment, with many local bookmakers being bought up by overseas giants.
However, this growth marks more of a move from one platform to another, rather than an expansion in the overall market. The wagering market has not, overall, expanded tremendously in the past four or five years, but merely kept pace with Australia’s general economic growth at about four to five per cent, according to AWC figures.
do not have policies in place to maintain responsible gambling, the body argues.
Karen Avery, Senior Director Gambling and Licensing Services, Department of Business, for the Northern Territory said the state doesn’t plan to follow suit with fee hikes.
In May, when the changes were first announced, Cormac Barry, chief executive of Sportsbet, told media that they were a “lazy option,” agreeing with the AWC that the move may force betting to other states or areas.
James Henderson, former Group Operations Director at William Hill and now CEO, told AGB that he concurs with the AWC's assessment that the increase in racing fees will negatively affect
"The real risk is that the increase in fees pushes consumers to unregulated offshore operators, which defeats Racing Victoria's objectives as revenues are funneled offshore”, said Henderson. He believes that such operators do not have the same commitments to responsible gambling or harm minimisation.” James Henderson, Group Operations Director, William Hill.
both punters and the industry more generally.
"The real risk is that the increase in fees pushes consumers to unregulated offshore operators, which defeats Racing Victoria's objectives as revenues are funneled offshore,” said Mr. Henderson. He believes that such operators do not have the same commitments to responsible gambling or harm minimisation.
More Australians are now using online wagering systems than before, which has reduced offshore wagering in Australia from 37.7 per cent in 2003 to 13.8 per cent in 2011. However, it is still estimated that some A$900m still heads overseas.
Avery of the NT also said betting on other kinds of sports, rather than race wagering was becoming more popular as the demographic changes. Sports betting appeals to a younger, predominantly male audience, who are attracted by the better cost efficiency and better live odds.
The sports betting industry also appears to have dodged a potential bullet, at least for the time being, with no changes to sports advertising rules. There was concern last year that the government planned strict regulations on advertising, which had been seen as one of the main reasons fuelling the sports betting boom.
South Australia did bring into place new advertising codes in March. However, there has been a misconception that laws have changed or been tightened, which may be because regulators are now more vigilant in spotting and cracking down on breaches, says Jamie Nettleton, a partner at law firm Addisons in Sydney.
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