[quote]
On 2004-04-28 15:57, Mark wrote:
Why would they bother taking bets & then laying them off on the tote?

Mark: Bookies have been doing this for years to round off their books. In the case of IAS then it because they can have an affect on the smaller pools of UniTab, as against those of SuperTab, by 'betting back' into those pools and by so doing reducing their liability, i.e. after the tote takeouts, there is $20,000 to be paid out to winning punters - a horse is currently showing a $10 return, however by 'betting back' $500 into that pool then IAS reduce the payout dividend to $8.20 and thus probably a lot more than $500 in their liabilities.

[ This Message was edited by: La Mer on 2004-04-28 17:04 ]