Aussies remain big betters

Quoting an unidentified recent study, Australia’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper claimed over the weekend that Australians will spend a record A$26 billion ($22.8 billion) this year on race and sports betting.

“On a per-head basis, they are likely to spend A$1,200 on events such as the Melbourne Cup, 90,000 races, the NRL premiership, AFL, soccer, basketball and other major sporting occasions,” the newspaper reports, adding that the boom is being fuelled by mobile and online gambling, with the TAB taking about 45 percent of wagers through these more contemporary channels.

The newspaper claims that betting turnover in Australia has shown annual increases of 3 percent over the past five years, motivating major overseas gambling groups to move into the local market.

Betting companies will profit handsomely from the A$26 billion wagered, retaining around A$2 billion by the end of 2014, the study found.

“Fixed Odds betting has just taken off in Australia,” TAB betting boss Craig Nugent told the Sunday Telegraph.

“We’ve grown from a $42 million business in our first year to $4.2 billion in 16 years.”

TAB’s average wager on a sporting event is A$43 and 90 percent of bets accepted are less than A$50.

Horse racing continues to be the favourite form of betting, with A$300 million being wagered on the Melbourne Cup alone this year, but sports betting companies are reporting growth at remarkable rates, the newspaper reports.

The TAB dominates 42 percent of the local market with the rest shared among corporate bookmakers, mostly owned by European giants Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and William Hill.

Those overseas giants have acquired leading Australian companies in the betting industry, making it difficult for smaller Aussie operators to survive due to the extensive marketing that the majors can afford to deploy, attracting punters to their offers.

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