Hi, Crash.

Apart from strong competition, maybe as computer betting increases with the TAB it could provide an even stronger argument to reduce the take-out. With on-line betting there are less overheads, such as no buying/leases of TAB agencies, associated costs with them, no involvement of phone operators, etc.

The NSW TAB could also consider abolishing the current method of rounding-down particularly with the Place divvy. If after the 15% (or whatever) the true divvy is $1.38 they will then halve this because they greedily work on a $0.50 divvy that then results in a divvy of $0.69. But as they declare divvies, not as $0.50 but as a dollar amount they now round-down the $0.69 to $0.60 and multiply it by 2. This then comes to $1.20 which is the declared dividend. So by this method a $1.30 becomes a $1.20 dividend.

When this method was introduced in the mid-seventies by the then-government which owned the TAB there was a justified outcry but the TAB/Government's attitude was the usual "stuff the punter".