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Betsy is publishing its top ten power lists for both NSW and Victoria, detailing the key powerbrokers in racing and their key relationships.
Some on these lists will be household names – there are others that punters will have never heard of.
But they are all crucial players in an industry worth billions of dollars.
The list is not designed to highlight those in positions of power or roles that give them prominence, it’s created to have a look at those who actually have an impact, with the ability to shape crucial decisions on how racing in Australia is run, and crucially, how punters are treated as a result.
2. THE BOOKIES
This power list doesn’t include any punters.
They keep this great game alive – but it’s those who take the bets who hold all the power – and punters rightly complain they don’t get a say in how the sport is run.
The two men whose companies who take the majority of those bets are Barni Evans and Gillon McLachlan.
Evans is CEO of Sportsbet, and McLachlan of TAB. Together they represent a huge power base in racing. The duo, and their collective customer base, essentially hold racing’s financial future in their hands.
BARNI EVANS
At the head of a company which captures around 43% of the money spent on the industry, the Sportsbet CEO, in reality, is the man who could turn Victorian racing on its head with a flick of a few buttons.
Evans is a likeable, intelligent operator who continues to push Sportsbet into a strong digital future.
Sportsbet are now a giant in the wagering sector and show no sign of letting that wane.
Evans himself is highly regarded in racing, and unlike some other wagering administrators, seeks a low profile. Sportsbet critics now argue they operate more like a bank than a wagering operator – risk averse, keen to protect its market share, and continue to cash significant profits. And who could blame them on such an obvious strategy with a dominant share of the market?
They are actually one wagering operator that wouldn’t mind tough new advertising regulations on wagering coming in as it would greatly reduce any competitors spending big to catch up and take market share [not that anyone could outspend Sportsbet, but you get the drift].
Like every good banking CEO, he has had his share of negative headlines [and unlucky selfies] to manoeuvre through.
He told a gambling talkfest that Sportsbet “forgot to do some grown-up things” and lamented Sportsbet’s advertising spend, saying they “stuffed a lot of things up”. You would have thought with billions of dollars in turnover that Sportsbet could have paid for better talking points from whoever wrote those up.
He’s been hammered in parliamentary inquiries, and for whatever reason, gets a harder time than other gambling joints for the impacts of gambling. Punters and politicians may not believe them, but they’ve done a tonne of work to improve their social liabilities around problem gambling.
Those close to Evans say some of the negative publicity weighs on him, but his intentions for a sustainable industry and Sportsbet’s social licence are genuine.
Evans fought moves to increase taxes on wagering and then gave media interviews saying punters deserve better.
Such is his power, you’d expect Racing Victoria to be all over Evans and his team.
Word around the wagering world is they, and other key operators at times, haven’t felt the love under the current regime.
One senior wagering operative said racing’s reliance on the big wagering companies is obvious – but many were unaware or ignorant as to what the trends are, [a trend to punting more on sport] – and also accused some of ignoring or not properly dealing with the frustrations the big betting companies have working with racing administrators at times, especially in Victoria.
As wagering providers feel the squeeze with taxes and reduced margins, they are already beginning a slow pivot to other sports where the profits are greater, where there is interest from younger punters, and administrative bodies are easier to work with.
Betsy has been told RV’s finances are directly related to how Sportsbet frames their markets, what generosities they offer and how they promote Victorian racing.
Sportsbet’s advertising spend too makes them incredibly powerful in the media and racing space. They pulled back on their investment in Racing Victoria’s media arm, who has traditionally relied upon their partnership.
One Sportsbet staffer apparently even suggested the new deal with racing.com was simply ‘’a donation to Victorian racing’’.
Sportsbet’s marketing arm was revolutionary in marketing and content. They were cheeky, fun and fast paced. Sportsbet were laughed at when they paid out early on Bill Shorten becoming Prime Minister in 2019 [he lost an unlosable election] – costing the gambling giant more than $5 million.
As a chief of staff at the Herald Sun at the time, the story played out how silly Sportsbet were – but the kicker, as one staffer told me, was that the value of their media reach, air time and free advertising as a result easily eclipsed whatever they paid out [not to mention that a fair few punters reinvested their winnings].
As Sportsbet pushes on with their own content play, could they be tempted to have their own free-to-air space? Sportsbet have spent big on talent and racing shows. A lot of it is good, fun content.
You’d imagine at some stage Sportsbet will find somewhere permanent to house their offerings.
The investment in content is far too great to not find a each to access platform – could they actually work closer with TAB for free to air space considering Sky is already streamed through Sportsbet’s channels?
Don’t laugh, rumours persist that the two might find a way.
Not that Evans has probably seen much of the content. His job is to keep the ‘Bank of Sportsbet’ open, protect their market share, keep the government’s left-leaning protagonists away from its operations and find ways to fight off competitors, regulators and a community who probably would like to see fewer gambling advertisements.
You would assume Evans’ key KPIs would be to quietly usher in acceptable advertising reforms and fight back against stricter gambling rules. He would do well to find a more effective body to lobby politicians than the eminently useless Responsible Wagering Australia, widely regarded by wagering bodies having done next to nothing to promote gambling or protect its right to operate in Australia as they battle community concerns.
Evans’ own tenure is spoken about – has he had enough? There is nothing to suggest he is [other than he has been CEO for more than seven years] but the industry is watching with interest with a quiet belief a change may be on the cards.
Meanwhile, locally, Evans and his team will continue to tell RV they need more support, that their product fees and taxes are too high and racing needs to do more to attract younger punters, who are flocking to punt on the football code of choice, NBA and even UFC in great numbers.
Racing doesn’t know what to make of sports betting – is it a competitor taking away customers? Or is it [as many in wagering believe] a perfect accomplice, providing an entry to young customers who will become active racing customers.
Either way, bookies will tell you younger punters choose sport betting because they understand how it works and it’s far simpler for most to punt on.
If Sportsbet wanted to focus its attention elsewhere or chase greater revenue in jurisdictions that favoured innovation and collaboration – the impact on Victorian racing would be significant and swift.
How Evans positions Sportsbet in a tightening market that faces significant challenges with a sluggish economy and behavioural changes in its young customers could have significant impacts on Victorian racing for years.
The reality is, for now, racing will stay an important part of Sportsbet’s business. For no other reason than it makes them money.
But make no mistake, any decrease in what Sportsbet makes from racing could force changes to where they invest their time and generosities.
One thing Racing Victoria will be aware of is Evans and his team have the power to dictate a significant part of racing’s financial future.
GILLON MCLACHLAN
He left one of the best jobs in Australia – CEO of the AFL – to tackle one of the toughest. Somehow lead TAB back to its former glories. McLachlan’s racing pedigree is strong and he is a genuine lover of the sport and actively weighed up being Racing Victoria’s new chairman.
Instead, McLachlan took the TAB gig, [not to mention an actual decent pay cheque], and immediately tackled the key areas the business needed to fix – declining revenues, a struggling retail business, staff cuts, a technology overhaul and reevaluating a number of deals with clubs and the media that delivered little, but cost a lot, or could be perceived as strategic errors.
Betsy is told even McLachlan was surprised by the amount of work he faced to turn the joint around when he looked properly under the bonnet.
But he didn’t waste any time.
From those who knew him at AFL level, they knew once McLachlan decided what he wanted to do, he’d go hard, as long as it didn’t piss off connections or important relationships.
And he did. He asked hard questions about track sponsorships and streaming deals with rival betting operators.
Betsy has been told he actively sought to change TAB’s culture too – making staff return to the office post-Covid, even rumoured to have FaceTimed those he felt should have been at their desk.
His cost-cutting in the media world, too, will likely speed up critical changes to a number of outlets that have relied on traditional TAB deals for years.
Some of those deals are now gone or renegotiated. Word has it TAB even played hardball on its Everest Slot in 2024 with Bella Nipotina – essentially making owners take greater risk running in the race financially – but with far bigger upside if she won [which of course she did].
The key problem McLachlan faces at TAB, once a behemoth, is of course that it has slowly lost significant market share to competitors such as Sportsbet and Ladbrokes as the online wagering boom kicked off.
But as TAB is now free of joint ventures with Victorian racing – and rumours persist it will negotiate its long-term deal with NSW – the business is now positioned to pivot and compete.
And in good news for Gil, [and his shareholders], TAB’s outlook is positive. Shares are up 101 per cent since he took the reins while TAB reported EBITDA of $201m versus expectations of $179m.
The end result for McLachlan was a hefty, [and well deserved], bonus. His knockers that expressed doubt he could run an ASX listed company – saying it’s different from the AFL – have so far been proven wrong.
Crucially, there are also signs of slight increases in TAB’s digital market share.
Until recently their app seemed to finally be getting better and the business is actively looking at revolutionising its retail strategy, once its cash cow.
McLachlan is pushing a new strategy that will directly impact Australian pubs and their retail model.
In short, TAB wants to remove commissions and other fees it pays but has committed to publicans they will invest in their products and facilities and actively drive punters to punt in their location through generosities and technology.
The ability for punters to access live in-play betting via their phones if they ‘bump’ a TAB machine is being trialled. It’s McLachlan’s first real strategic retail play.
The other traditional cash cow for McLachlan is the tote, once the darling of racing. What can he do to get punters investing more of their hard earned money into the tote? What does TAB need from the states to make it relevant or competitive? Some see it as mission impossible.
TAB’s market value has risen since McLachlan took over, and while racing in Australia is less dependent on the business than it once was, it is still a vital organ for the sport. It has traditionally been the home of older punters, who still make up the majority of turnover in Australian racing.
They are the punters keeping racing going. The relationship between TAB and racing in general has a lot to play out. The change in direction from the business has already impacted Victorian racing and bosses are nervous of what lies ahead.
Given McLachlan’s calculating and ruthless approach when he was AFL boss, he has shown everyone exactly why Racing Victoria and the State Government wanted him.
A master negotiator and networker, many at RV still remain unsure where they sit with McLachlan and the business. He doesn’t suffer fools and his top end staff will be full of hard working and ruthless executives.
The variety of tips Betsy has received around who McLachlan likes or doesn’t, rates or hates [including at RV], and what he wants to do next, shows that the industry still hasn’t worked him out.
There is a view that many at TAB are still hedging their bets around RV’s ability to take the sport where the wagering sector needs it to be.
He has kept his cards close to his chest and recognises the power TAB has in racing.
But McLachlan’s only real KPI is lifting the share price and serving his shareholders. Time will tell how that impacts racing in Victoria.
