Placing the ills and problems of horseracing at the door of the Open Bet is a cop-out and a gross misrepresentation of the facts and realities of business life by the racing operators. Love them or hate them, Bookmakers do make a substantial financial contribution and are an integral thread of the fabric of horseracing culture in South Africa. From a customer service and product range viewpoint there has surely got to be a place in the sun for everybody. A constructive rather than destructive approach by the operators to finding some middle ground, may just see horseracing coming out a winner at the end of the day.
When the pressure is on, then just look to apportion blame and point fingers.That is a proven character trait of us human beings and probably second only in our nature to breathing. When it happens in the corporate world, however, it is an entirely different story and an ostrich approach of denialism and misinformation can only be detrimental for all in the long run. In an industry battling for survival, it is thus both ironic and fascinating that there is no communication or even an iota of apparent tolerance and consultation between the decision makers, industry stakeholders and the larger customer base. Talk of close-to-the-heart matters of stakes cuts and the impending demise of Arlington racecourse,as just two pertinent recent examples, hardly makes front page news in racing publications. But this is by now a sadly well worn tale of misplaced commercial arrogance and poor management and nothing ever seems to improve. In this climate, Gold Circle journalist David Thiselton’s article calling for the boycott of the Open Bet in the Racegoer pages a few weeks ago, would hardly have added to the harmony!
Let me say at the outset that I have every respect for the journalistic capablilities of my ex-colleague. The Racegoer pages are owned by the operators and have as their sole function, the promotion of tote betting turnover. And David is a largely unheralded servant of the sport and far and away the biggest generator of good quality and relevant reading material in this industry. He has an uncanny knack of producing personal feelgood and newsworthy stories from his endless and patient prowl around Summerveld, Ashburton and Clairwood. The ‘open bet’ piece was his personal opinion and I respect that. But it has been called one-sided and smacked of coarse propaganda. Not to say, I haven’t been guilty of the same thing at times, when it suited the moment and the master.
Fact Finder
I put some of the assertions and statements contained in the article to the eloquent and vociferous Dean Finder, who has been Chairman of the Western Cape Bookmakers association for over ten years and is also Vice Chairman of the national body:
“The open bet is regarded by the operators as the single most damaging practise to the health of horseracing,
Finder: This is absolute nonsense! The impact is grossly overstated and to imply that it is thus in some manner responsible for the demise of Gold Circle and the decline of racing, as examples, is ludicrous. In fact the turnover on the open bet is in all likelihood the largest in Gauteng – yet Phumelela pay in the region of R21 million to shareholders, before they have paid a cent to horseracing and they are managing to keep their head above water, despite the prevailing difficult economic conditions. One can only conclude that the open bet is being conveniently blamed to perhaps cover other shortcomings.
“In bookmaking shops that offer it, it is noticeable that the queue at the open bet till is longer than the one at the tote till
Finder: Bookmakers offer punters the freedom of choice and it is ultimately their call. The tote has had a lot of credibility issues with the large variance in dividends, which I believe might be as a result of the integration of the two tote systems and co-mingling. They need to adequately address this aspect but this inconsistency is more likely to push punters towards fixed odds betting than the open bet with the bookmaker, I believe. But at the end of the day it is a free market and punters have the freedom to decide where they want to place their bets. It is basically the same concept for any other Bookmakers competing for market share – the Bookmaker who offers the better service,price etc will in all likelihood do more business than his or her counterpart. This is in essence true to any business environment, other than a monopoly situation where the monopoly has the sway of power.
“One only has to look at the strongest horseracing countries in the world, the likes of Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and France….
Finder: Yes, but it is changing in France as we speak and it is a known fact that there is tons of illegal betting activity in these countries. Why not have bookmaking legalised and contributing to the fiscus and racing, rather than chasing the reality underground ? South Africa, in any event, proudly boasts one of the best regulated and most respected gambling jurisdictions in the world.
“A further detractor to the open bet for punters should be that their dividend is subject to bookmaker’s betting tax.
Finder: All bets are subject to a six percent tax but in respect of the open bet this is often not charged to the customer. If the payout is R10, for example, the bookmaker shows it as R10-60 in his books and pays the customer the net R10, while still paying over the sixty cents to the authorities, of which thirty cents or three percent goes into the operators coffers ,ie. the six percent tax payment is split 50/50 between the operators and the Province. Interestingly the racing operators only choose to look at the apparent drain – they hardly ever make a song and dance about the R100 million plus, we pay them annually. That does not include our R12 million Tellytrack subs! And a large part of the open bets that Bookmakers take are on credit and would not have found their way to the tote anyway. Something that should be taken cognisance of here also is the fact that we pay the six percent betting tax over irrespective of whether or not the punter has settled his indebtedness or not. What I mean here is that a punter might have winning bets with a Bookmaker which will generate 6% tax but on balance the punter might lose-the 6% generated is still paid over by the Bookmaker who is now out of pocket to the tune of 6% on the winning bets plus the total amount not settled by the punter.
“Bookmakers have limits to their payouts.
Finder: Yes, they do, and it is law in the Western Cape that these limits are displayed clearly in the outlet or in the case of websites or credit betting clearly conveyed to the punter and a copy is furnished to the local Gambling Board. Punters, once again, have the freedom of choice with the prior knowledge of the relevant limits applicable. That’s a fair business principle, is it not? .
“If punters could band together and boycot it…
Finder: This is something of an irresponsible statement and typical of the intolerance and high handedness that exists in certain spheres. The tote has a 25% rake off and the informed punters, particularly, may choose to go the route of tixed odds at their bookmaker. It is probably also a natural sway then that they may support their bookmaker with their open bets. Have the operators ever considered the truth that the bookmaker service levels and attention to their customer needs far outstrips that of the totes generally? Does your tote manager know your name or when last has he offered you a snack or bought you a beer? Think about it.
CHANGE WITH THE TIMES
Finder said one only had to look back at the way the face of gambling has changed in South Africa. He pointed out that in the good old days, horseracing was the only gambling option and folk thronged to the races. As the environment changed, and people stopped going racing on a Saturday afternoon and casinos and the like become realities, bookmakers had to innovate and become competitive.They could not rest on their laurels and had to give punters other attractive and creative options. As he says, one only has to look at the websites of the local Bookmakers to see this innovation in practice. He suggests that a simple comparison of the Bookmakers websites versus that of the operators is a tale of two very different worlds.
“ I sincerely believe that the entire impact of the open bet is overstated. The operators have done little to adapt their business models or put their own house in order and, for example, to attempt to improve their service levels at their outlets. Totes are generally unappealing awful places, where service is often non-existent. Bookmakers are tired of being treated like a parasite and are a legitimate stakeholder in racing, who more than pay our way. We have also offered our input and services, but have received no acknowledgement through a say or a voice. There are over 200 bookmaker betting outlets nationally so we are not a minority interest group. Why don’t the operators rather adopt a positive approach? For instance tote commissions to agency operators have not increased since time in memorial. They are static around 4% – why not increase this to a more market related percentage where overheads could be covered and discourage the open bet and rather encourage Bookmakers who are agents to increase their tote turnover in this fashion? This is ultimately the crux of the matter. The open bet is 100% legal and has been tested in court and way back in the 1990’s, Parliament gave it the thumbs-up and whether the operators like it or not, so have a large percentage of the punting population,” he said.
This & That
Viva le Var
The champagne flowed at Avontuur on Saturday to celebrate a special arrival! The seven- time winning speed merchant Viva ( National Assembly-Hot Grass), who was trained in a
very successful racing career by Glen Kotzen, gave birth to a flashy bay colt with four white socks on Saturday morning on the beautiful estate. And the proud Dad ? Var, of
course! Viva won the Grade 3 Champagne Stakes at her last start in August 2009 and also has a victory over the game Post Merchants winner Casey Cool to her credit. She was
top –class and Avontuur GM Pippa Mickleburgh is absolutely ‘chuffed and thrilled’ and said she could not have planned it better herself. He has already been christened – Viva
Le Var. As they say, there are certain things in life that money just can’t buy! Watch this space.
A Salt on Pepper
Tellytrack presenter Gareth Pepper can’t have too many friends in the bookmaking fraternity. He told punters on Saturday afternoon’s show just before the Kenilworth seventh
race that number 5 Cold Hearted Cat was ‘great value’ at R4-70 for a tote win. The bookies had the Advocate Brett Maselle-owned daughter of Silvano priced up at 6-1 at the
same time. Malice or simply maths? You be the judge!
Calling Cohen
Young KZN-based Alastair Cohen is an up-and –coming commentator with a bright future. I have heard him call a few races at Kimberley recently and, while it just doesn’t feel
like a Kimberley Monday without Bumpie Schoeman, the young man projects a maturity that belies his years. Sounding a little like Jehan Malherbe, he can only improve with
live experience and one hopes that his talents are accommodated by the racing operators. And he didn’t escape a little dig from trainer Peter Miller, who suggested, like
Bumpie last week, that he ‘sticks to commentating – that’s why they are called commentators.’ Based on what Mr Miller is saying, one would swear his horse won by three
lengths not a short-head!
Sleeping Track
Why believe anything Saftote tells us? Well their website suggests we ‘ Watch Keeping Track from 7.30pm every Monday for the latest news, views and interviews from the
magical world of thoroughbred horseracing” …… I have a feeling that this show has been off air for about a year now. If not longer? Then what happened to that Soccer 6 on
Saturday that closed at the wrong time…. or did the game start early? Or was it the wrong day? Shaheen Shaw wasn’t too thrilled about it.
Happy Birthday
Longserving Western Cape Stipendiary Steward Tarquin Norval celebrated his 55th birthday on Monday. The always impeccably attired and neat as a soldier Tarquin is known as
one of the genuine gentlemen in a profession that is not known to attract too many friends. A keep fit fanatic who has umpteen Argus Tours and Two Oceans Marathons to his
credit, the former racing journalist is definitely not the stereotype South African fifty-something, and makes most forty year olds look old. Happy Birthday Tarquin!
