In a week where there has been carnage in Canberra, racing’s leaders showed rare glimpses of unity in a bid to make clear that any ‘’draconian’’ reforms to gambling laws could have drastic impacts on the sport.
A senate inquiry into the federal government’s legislation to restrict gambling advertising and operations, heard from racing’s leaders, led by acting Racing NSW CEO Graeme Hinton and Racing Victoria CEO Aaron Morrison.
The duo were joined by Thoroughbred Breeders Australia CEO Andrew Hore-Lacy and Racing Australia CEO Paul Eriksson at this week’s inquiry into the government’s reforms that were announced in April.
But the key message from Hinton and Morrison that there are real fears in the sport that if reforms go beyond what is proposed, it could have significant financial impacts on racing.
‘It could result in increased harm’
Hinton, whose appearance on Monday alongside other racing leaders followed evidence of problem gamblers and their relationship with the corporate bookmakers, warned senators about the unintended impacts of the legislation.
‘’What I’d like to say from the outset is we certainly sympathise and empathise with some of the evidence that’s been put forward this morning,’’ he said.
‘’However, what we propose is to focus today on the risk of approaching this issue only through the lens of ideology and emotion and not focusing on evidence and outcomes. There is a real risk of unintended consequences if we don’t approach this carefully. In fact, some of these consequences can lead to more harm.’’
Hinton said that as new regulations are implemented, racing’s revenues decline.
‘’We’ve seen an unprecedented level of new wagering regulations since this process commenced. This has unsurprisingly corresponded with a period of significant revenue decline for our industry,’’ he said.
‘’What concerns us is that, notwithstanding the significant protections afforded to racing in this bill, any further reduction in advertising or increased regulation could not only destroy the viability of our industry and take away livelihoods but could also result in increased harm.’’
Hinton also implored Australia’s leaders to take stock in where the major gambling loses where coming from – poker machines.
‘’What we propose is proportionate responses focusing on supporting those in need. We heard this morning about gambling harm in Australia and a significant figure of $32 billion being the total losses. What wasn’t explained is the vast majority of that doesn’t have any impact from this legislation, poker machines in particular.
‘’Wagering represents just ten percent of all gambling in Australia. This is an important fact. Placing a wager is a legal entertainment activity, enjoyed responsibly by millions of Australians in any given week.’’
‘The real face of the racing industry’
Morrison told the senate inquiry that his appearance was to ‘’ represent the real face of the racing industry’’.
He also said that Racing Victoria is supportive of the new gambling legislation which will impact how wagering companies operate.
‘‘We support the Bill as drafted, and we ask that the long-recognised racing carve-out be implemented in a practical and workable way so ordinary racing content can continue without legal uncertainty regardless of the platform or medium,’’ he said.
‘’We are here to reinforce and represent the real face of the Racing industry: the people, jobs, livelihoods, careers and communities behind the racing product. Many of which are multi-generational.
‘’That means trainers, jockeys, stable staff, breeders, vets, farriers, float drivers, feed suppliers, club employees, volunteers, owners and the country towns across Australia that rely on and thrive from racing.
‘’Nationally, thoroughbred racing supports more than 100,000 FTE-equivalent jobs. Every day working Australians. The total number of people directly involved is many multiples of that considering owners, members, volunteers and participants. ‘’
Morrison also warned about the consequences of further changes to how wagering companies can advertise their products.
‘’Racing is a big part of the cultural fabric of Australia, we’re one of the oldest industries and we provide significant support to the communities in which our hundreds of mostly regional racecourses operate across the country,’’ he said.
‘’If reform overreaches, the impact to us will not be theoretical or abstract. It will be felt in livelihoods, careers, horses, clubs and communities across Australia.’’
‘It’s abhorrent’
When asked for their view on a problem gambler allegedly being offered drugs by an unnamed wagering operator, after former NRL player Luke Bateman spoke of his experiences with his own gambling addiction, Morrison told the senate inquiry the behaviour was ‘’abhorrent’’.
Hinton said that those businesses responsible, who were not named, needed to take responsibility.
‘’Ultimately, it’s illegal conduct. So the behaviour of the employees, the business that’s allowed it to happen, doesn’t matter whether you are in the wagering industry, the banking sector, finance, whatever area of the world you are in,’’ he said.
‘’That’s wrong and it’s illegal.’’
Tabcorp’s head of government affairs, Julian Whealing, said at the hearing on Tuesday the allegations heard in the inquiry had noting to do with the company.
“Tabcorp has zero tolerance for this behaviour, we are Australia’s most regulated wagering company, and we take our responsibilities to compliance seriously,” he said.
The director of corporate affairs for Sportsbet, Jules Norton Selzer, also made it clear that his organisation has ‘’ no tolerance’’ for such behaviour
No such thing as inducements
Morrison also made it clear that wagering operators can no longer offer inducements for punters to join a wagering operator but defended the use of generosities which are an important economic driver of racing.
“Ongoing promotional offers however for existing customers such as money back specials or enhanced odds are legitimate promotional tools that enhance the product offering.”
Morrison also implored the senators to recognise the importance of racing receiving ‘carve outs’ from any advertisement bans.
“We’ve seen wagering advertising already reduced substantially in the last few years, down over 41 per cent,” Mr Morrison said.
“And those reforms have had an impact on us in terms of our industry revenues – we’re down 24 per cent in the last three years alone.
“Our request is simply that the recognised racing carve-out that’s part of the bill is a practical and proportionate and workable solution.”
