One of the absurd arguments against Betfair and other betting exchanges is that punters can profit by making money on a horse not winning and this will lead to corruption.

That is absolutely crazy, inconsistent logic because it is already happening with sports betting on the TAB.

You know - when a TAB offers head to head betting on say a game of tennis. By backing a player to win punters are effectively making money by the other player not winning. In a head to head contest it is no different to laying the other player to lose. Except that the TAB is offering the odds and making the profit overall.

It is also the TAB that gives NOTHING BACK to say the AFL or other sports for using their intellectual rights. If the TAB was consistent it would be giving 5% to 6% of turnover to all these other sporting organisations for use of their intellectual property.

[quote]
On 2004-10-19 20:33, Neil wrote:
One of the absurd arguments against Betfair and other betting exchanges is that punters can profit by making money on a horse not winning and this will lead to corruption.

Hi Neal! I was listening to the wireless (radio) this morning also, and found the arguments brought forward by the TAB spokesman extremely amusing. We DO have a system here, where we bet against the winners! By pouring money on horses we think have a chance we shorten their prices therefore the prices of lesser chances increase, so if you are game to bet on longer odds you go for them!!! The whole argument is Monty Phyntonist.
The only reason is money!!!! TAB!!! get back to a realistic level of takeout and you have nothing to fear!

Hello,
I don't think your example is quite the same. Backing a longshot is not like effectively just laying one horse to lose. But betting one player or one team in a head to head sporting contest is effectively no different to laying the other to lose.

If the TABs wish to be consistent they should abandon all betting on head to head sporting contests. Will they?

Of course the real issue is money. Everyone sees their massive income threatened by betting exchanges.

One argument I found quite interesting was the TAB saying how dependent Racing was on its income. I believe racing managed just fine before TABs ever started operating.

For your interest, this is a copy of a letter I've sent to the Financial Review tonight. Will be interested to see if it's published?

TAB Vs Betfair

How many times have we heard this story before?
'Protect us from the evils of golbal competition'.
All sorts of bad things will happen, and if we believe Tabcorp's chief executive Michael Piggott , even "a jockey having a shotgun pointed at his legs and told he'd be kneecapped if he won a race".
Of course, such diabolical happenings won't occur so long as the status quo is maintained.
What a load of beeswax!!
Didn't work for my textile business, why should such arguments work for Tabcorp?
Still, Tabcorp has considerably more to protect than I ever did.
They enjoy profit margin's I'd only ever have dreamed about. Not stock to carry, and better still been allowed to take advantage of the technological leap we've enjoyed and the dramatic increase in turnover without having to pass on one iota of the savings back to their customers. Their 'margin' has remained intact. Wouldn't we kill for a business like that!! Maybe not kill, 'kneecap' perhaps!
But, as they say in the classics, all good things must come to an end. Trust a global competitor to throw a spanner in the works.
Simple solution? Kneecap the global competitor. So far, has worked with the NSW and WA State Government's who, on the advice of their racing ministers have rolled over easily to the vested interests. Not to mention their own vested interests in gaming income. As to the interest of their constituents? Why should they care?

Since when did State Governments determine the terms of global trade anyway?

Fortunatley, our Federal Government has more spine. The quantum leap in technology has ushered in a new world on many fronts. Tabcorp has the choice of going down kicking and screaming, or getting with the progam. As we all should have learnt by now, yielding to the bellyaching and arguments of protectionism by the various TAB's, Racing Bodies and vested interests to stop the clock simply won't work,

Name withheld.

In the event that you publish this letter, albeit in an edited version, the only reason that I would prefer to have my name withheld is that I hold accounts with TAB's and they have the right to close accounts soley at their own discretion. This would be an inconvenience.

Being from the southern states,I don't know for sure,but I believe Queensland is infested by cane toads.
Introduced to this country,it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Like speed cameras,Don't know if the government could run without the financial support of speed cameras.
We got something that works.Why throw it away?

Seems that Betfair has again been awarded the "ogre" of the month prize!, and for what possible reason?

If you want to bet head to head on the Cox Plate this weekend, just pop over to a well known online betting agency and try your luck.

The odds are there for all to see.


dundas lane..........

Hi guys,

It's only a matter of time before the TABs compete with the Exchanges once they realize that Exchanges are here to stay and what punters want.

I cannot foresee a TAB exchange per se, but more realistic would be a set lay price for a runner.

At this point they continue to expand on fixed odds betting more and more.

The convenience of betting with the TAB will probably outweigh the better prices and red tape of Exchanges.

The annoying thing about this is the non-racing people commenting on it negatively like steve qaurtermaine. On the panel he bagged it but didnt mention any of the positives of betfair. Then the average joe on the couch thinks betfair is dodgy. I think it's quite irresponsible. If your not fully informed you should say I dont know the ins and outs of it all etc etc

[ This Message was edited by: umrum on 2004-10-21 12:07 ]

Yes Umrum, I saw that too. They made a joke about how easy it would be to make money from losers.....like to see them try.

i back a lot of horses that lose.
how come i am not winning.