T.A.B. Replies To Criticism

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31195, 20 October 1966, Page 4

T.A.B. Replies To Criticism

Criticism of the Totalisator Agency Board’s service to the betting public, most of it relating to the hour and a half time lag between making the bet and starting time, is answered by an official of the board.

“I do not believe, nor do I think the T.A.B. management would claim, that the service has reached the maximum desired and aspired to, but it is a good service within the framework of the principles and the regulations which govern its operations.” says the official. “The tendency of the critics has been to compare the New Zealand system with Melbourne, which pioneered off-course betting in Australia from the New Zealand blueprint and with key staff trained in this country. “In Victoria. T.A.B. betting closes 40 minutes before starting time against 90 minutes in New Zealand and the critics ask whv New Zealand cannot do better even if it cannot match the shorter Interval. “The reason for this originates with the 1940 Royal Commission on Gaming and Racing, whose recommendation led to the establishment of the offcourse scheme.

"The commission made a strong recommendation that all off-course Investments for every race should be indicated on the toalisator before on-course selling commences so that course patrons are acquainted with the off-course betting trend.

“This recommendation was accepted by those who drew up

the Initial charter for the T.A.B. which continues to honour the agreement made with the clubs. LITTLE DIFFERENCE "In New Zealand it takes 43 minutes to process a bet, which is only three minutes longer than it takes in Melbourne.” The statement outlines the procedure involved in handling a bet at Kaitaia, the northernmost agency, for the 12.30 p.m. race at Riverton, the southern, most meeting. "Closing time is 11 am., Kaitaia telephones bets for this race to Whangarei—ll.lB a.m. (18 minutes). “Whangarei adds these figures to the totals from 12 other selling points in the area and telephones the area total to Auckland —11.27 a.m. (nine minutes). “Auckland adds the Whangarei total to those of the 60 selling points in the Auckland district and telephones the total to head collating centre in Wellington—ll. 34 a.m. (seven minutes). “Wellington adds the Auckland district total to those of the other seven major districts and telephones the total to Riverton —11.43 a.m. (nine minutes). “The Dominion-wide investments. both win and place, are then ready for indication when the Riverton totalisator opens for on-course betting on the 12.30 p-in. race. “The Melbourne T.A.8., unhampered by such regulations, can sell for 50 minutes longer. They do send a progress figure for dividend indication purposes, but this cannot be relied on as an accurate forecast of what the final dividend will be. CITY BUSINESS “T.A.B. Victoria has 307 ee’jling agencies compared with 324

in New Zealand, but 78 per cent of its off-course betting conies from Melbourne city offices, with all 214 metropolitan offices linked t-o the control centre by automatic telephone exchange. “The greatest volume of offcourse betting from any metropolitan centre in New Zealand is taken at Auckland, where 20 per cent of the Dominion total is received from the 42 city offices.

“This means that off-course betting is more extensively spread throughout New Zealand in comparison with Victoria and has to be transmitted through several widely dispersed centres by the relatively slower system of toll Maks.

“T.A.B. Victoria never has to operate on more than three meetings a day in its own state and has the advantage of swift and easy automatic telephone communication between control centre and race track while New Zealand operates a nation-wide coverage on anything up to eight meeting a day and has to rely on the public tolls service, the speed of which must be governed by other user demand.

“Though New Zealand undertakes a wider coverage and operates under more difficult communication problems, it takes only three minutes longer to process a bet here than it does in Melbourne and the only bar to later closing is the requirement that off-course investments must appear on course tota jjsators before on-course selling commences. “Whether the racing clubs and their patrons would agree to dispense with this requirement is problematical, but until they do, the 90 minute interval wiM remain. "Statistics kept over a long .period reveal that for Saturday racing, 25 per cent of the cash

betting is handled on Friday and of the sum wagered on the Saturday. 90 per cent is taken betw.een 8.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., which raise the doubt whether the agitation for closer-to-the-off betting represent* the wishes of the majority. “MILD DEMAND" “The decision of T.A.B. New South Wales, the latest state in Australia to introduce offcourse betting, to pay dividends immediately the result is known —this is also done in Western Australia—has given rise to a mild demand for similar treatment in New Zealand. “Management here assures me that the.r system could easily be geared to provide such a service. but the regulations under which they operate preclude the payment of dividends on the same day. “Here again the 1946 Royal Commission strongly recommended that dividends should not be paid op race day and this .was also written into the T.A.B.’s charter. "Whatever may remain to be done by way of improvement to meet that mystical standard of perfection desired by its critics, the T.A.B. has exerted a beneficial influence on racing in New Zealand.

"It hae considerably reduced the incidence of illegal bookmaking by providing away bettors with facilities to indulge their fancies without breaking the law and therefore has performed an important social service.

"In the first 15 yeans of its existence it hae given the dubs £9.96 million that they would never have seen under the bookmaker system and it hie furnished the State with £33.5 million in taxation. “Even its critics would regard that as a success rtory,” the official said.