Australia: Record Betting in Tough Times
| November 21, 2009 For a nation renowned for its love of a punt, the "Sport of Kings" still remains the popular gamble of choice for many. The TAB reported that betting records were smashed during the 2009 Spring Racing Carnival - proving once again that in troubled times a bet on the horses is almost like a public panacea. Punters seem to forget about the so-called global economic crisis and concerns about job security to try their luck on the nags. Racing has been thought of as "recession proof" since the days of the Great Depression when the out-of-work and out-of-luck scraped together what ever money they could find to back the legendary Phar Lap. Even though Phar Lap usually started at prohibitive odds, for most desperate punters the gamble was worth it. Phar Lap almost always won and a bet on the champ was considered safer than bank interest anyway. This year's spring carnival certainly didn't boast an equine star like Phar Lap but we still bet up big. Tabcorp has revealed that NSW and Victorian TAB punters wagered more than $1.57 billion across the 50 official days of the 2009 spring racing carnival. In NSW alone, TAB betting on the three racing codes from September 30 to November 18, 2009 reached $839.59 million (up 6.3 per cent on last year) - an all-time record. During this period, thoroughbred racing investments by NSW TAB punters was $630.48 million (up 5.8%) compared to the Victorian TAB which reached $568.38 million (up 0.1%). Tabcorp processed some 47.7 million transactions through the NSW and Victorian TABs on Melbourne Cup Day, including 636 bets per second during the peak of trading. NSW TAB punters wagered a nation-high $55.3 millon (up 9.2%) on the Melbourne Cup alone. The only other year in the last decade where NSW outgrew Victoria in spring racing carnival turnover was in 2008, when NSW was coming off a low base caused by Equine Influenza. Victoria's TAB growth was higher than NSW's in all 10 years prior. What's that about Australians loving a bet? Tabcorp's managing director of wagering, Robert Nason, had every right to be beating his chest yesterday. "We have delivered our best spring racing carnival operational performance on record, seamlessly processing tens of millions of transactions for the benefit of our customers and our racing industry partners," Nason said. "This is a considerable achievement when you take into account that no wagering operator in the world processes the number of transactions Tabcorp does over a prolonged, high volume period such as the Spring Racing Carnival." These betting turnover figures not only underline our love for a punt, but show the resilience of horse racing. The sport has endured some troubled times of late starting when the horse 'flu outbreak shut down all race meetings in NSW for three months in late 2007. Despite all the negatives, horse racing remains a popular pastime with racetrack attendances booming and betting turnover on the rise. "As a nation, in general most of us do like to have a bet," Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys said. "It's part of the very fabric of our society, it is an Australian way of life. I don't think many people realise but in NSW there are more racetracks than post offices. Betting on the races isn't affected by recessions or economic downturns because people still like the opportunity to try and win that little bit extra. It helps many people take their minds off the stress of everyday life." |
