RACING Record T.A.B. Turnover For 1959-60

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29342, 22 October 1960, Page 7

RACING Record T.A.B. Turnover For 1959-60

Off-course investments through the Totalisator Agency Board in the year ended July 31 reached a record level. The investments increased by £2,434,523 (11.1 per cent.) over the 1958-59 figures. The report of the chairman (Mr C. S. Thomas) to the annual meeting of the board yesterday, said this “is attributable to greatly improved economic conditions and the successful introduction of night trotting.”

The rate of increase was far from uniform throughout the year, he said. At the end of December, turnover was only 52 per cent, higher than at the same point in the previous year; for the remaining period the gain was 15.5 per cent.

The surplus available for distribution to clubs was £750,157, an increase of 18.8 per cent, over last year.

“The distribution of a substantial surplus from the TA.B. has become essential to the continuance of racing and trotting on their present scale,” said Mr Thomas. That was shown when for the 1958-59 year, after a general reduction in stakes and receiving £701,910 from the TAB., the aggregate profit of the 132 totalisator clubs was a meft £25.340.

The total surplus distributable since the T.A.B.’s establishment was £5,236,559, or 3.13 per cent, of the aggregate gross turnover, less refunds. The TA.B. payments had enabled many clubs to carry out striking improvements to their course facilities, to the benefit of the sport and the public.

The unhappy experience of the TA.B. had been that betting turnover was not consistently related to population. Many offices, especially in rural communities, had received so little support that revenue fell short of operating costs. Fifty were operating uneconomically, at a total cost of more than £20,000 a year. Among the eight closed were Hawarden and Oxford.

"There is no question of closing all uneconomic agencies," said Mr Thomas. “The board recognises that its duty to serve the people and to divert money from illegal channels must entail the provision of facilities in some places where agencies will never pay their way.” Night Trotting Success When night trotting was still in the planning stage, it appeared that other clubs would, in effect, have to subsidise the experiment. However, its undoubted success to date had solved the problem. After allowing for added costs, the TA.B. gained extra profit of about £ 13,000 on the amount of increased off-course turnover apparently due to the change to night trotting. Of that sum, the two pioneer clubs —Auckland and Wellington—would share £ll,OOO. “The TA.B. has no reason to believe that the public’s preference for night trotting will not be maintained at a profitable level in the future,” said Mr Thomas.

Commenting on overseas interest in the working of the TA.B, Mr Thomas suggested that the evidence throughout the world was of a swing away from the bookmaker towards the legitimate totalisator agency. “In every country, the racing enthusiast seeks to pursue his interest in the sport without the taint of illegality and corruption. He has that right. In New Zealand, the T.A.B. has given him the facility,” said Mr Thomas, reviewing the last 10 years. For the community, a long-standing need had been filled with integrity and efficiency. For the Government, legal off-coursd betting provided a new and constant source of revenue—vitally needed to ease the burden of direct income taxation on the people. For the racing and trotting clubs, the TAB. sign was an emblem of

solidarity and a guarantee of financial security. The world trend towards legitimate totalisator agencies meant that New Zealand racing and trotting authorities could look forward to closer links—through the TA.B.—with their counterparts in other countries.

In the next few years, the board expected to make further advances in technique which would speed its service to the public and reduce costs of operation. The tentative programme of mechanisation might play an important part. In the long run, the turnover handled by the T.A.B. would depend on intangibles: the inclination of the people to bet and their ability to find the money. It would be foolhardy to count on an ever-increasing volume of business. “We may assume, however, that as New Zealand prospers, so will the TA.B,” he concluded.