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Tabcorp cops massive fine
East Coast Racing
paraletic
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http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/tabcorp-fined-45-million-for-breaching-money-laundering-and-terrorism-financing-laws/news-story/a2fd3064f5d87086acb25c73ff0e70d7
carey likes this post.
and we might add that the present boss of rwwa is the one that .............
according to what i have been told.
hash likes this post.
Ben Butler
Gaming giant Tabcorp would charge weekend punters more under a secret plan to introduce Uber-style surge pricing.
It has also considered extending the plan, known as “Project Alfred” to Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival, The Australian has learned.
The
existence of Project Alfred, which Tabcorp shopped to Victorian racing
authorities in 2015, has emerged in Competition Tribunal hearings where
the company is asking for approval to go ahead with an $11 billion
merger with rival Tatts.
Yesterday,
counsel for the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, Andrew
McClelland QC, told the tribunal he had received documents dealing with
Project Alfred and a software package called Longitude that “cast doubt
on a lot of evidence” given by Tabcorp’s witnesses.
“This has just been disclosed to us and has caused us some concern,” he said.
He
said Tabcorp’s witnesses, which have included chief executive David
Attenborough and commercial development boss Doug Freeman, might need to
be recalled to deal with the new information.
And
he also said the ACCC wanted all documents related to Project Alfred
produced to the tribunal. Tabcorp makes its money by taking a cut of the
total amount bet on each race or type of bet.
Under Project Alfred, it proposed reducing this take-out on weekdays and increasing it on Fridays and over the weekend.
Tabcorp
research is believed to show punters betting on the weekend and during
the Spring Racing Carnival were least sensitive to changes in the size
of the tote pool.
It is estimated
Project Alfred could reap between $2 million and $3m a year in extra
profits for Tabcorp, although the company said it planned to plough
benefits back into promoting the tote.
Mr
McClelland told the tribunal the new documents showed Tabcorp hired an
accountancy firm to examine the “inelasticities of demand” in regard to
tote pools.
“They also disclose some plans to increase the take-out rate above the maximum statutory rates in some jurisdictions,” he said.
It
is believed this refers to a proposal that Tabcorp would lobby
government for an increase in some take-out rates, which vary depending
on bet type.
On Friday, Mr Freeman told
the tribunal Tabcorp’s “strategy was we would increase the take-out
rates on certain days, decrease them on other days”.
“There
was likely to be a net difference which we then intended to use that
extra revenue to promote more, just like the corporates do,” he said.
“We presented it to Victorian Racing, we have explained it to our key stakeholder, and they are a total supporter of it.”
Yesterday,
Mr McClelland told the tribunal the new documents also showed that
Tabcorp sometimes referred to the take-out rate as the price of its
services.
Mr Attenborough denied the take-out rate was the price when giving evidence to the tribunal last week.
Neil
Young QC, representing the James Packer-backed corporate bookmaker
CrownBet, said he also wanted to see documents relating to Longitude.
Longitude
is software designed to allow better management of tote pools,
including by combining small pools into larger ones to improve
liquidity.
Mr Young contrasted the new
information with Tabcorp’s previous statements that a merger with Tatts
would benefit racing by allowing bigger tote pools.
“Again this is a matter not consistent with earlier evidence,” Mr Young said.
Longitude “will have consequences for eliminating any need to make changes to any pooling arrangements”, he said.
The
ACCC’s interventionist stance yesterday ruffled Tatts’ feathers, with
counsel for the gaming company, Rod Smith SC, questioning the
regulator’s impartiality.
Mr Smith
objected to questions Mr McClelland asked Sportsbet chief executive
Cormac Barry, who was giving evidence yesterday. “This is the so-called
impartial ACCC trying to get evidence which has got nothing to do with
what I asked this witness about,” Mr Smith said.
Justice John Middleton, who is hearing the case along with lay members Grant Latta and Darryn Abraham, allowed the question.
Increase takeout rates on the big days +
Decrease takeout rates on the smaller days
= huge profits for Tabcorp.
'Put a little in , spin a little about , take it all out , that's what it's all about!!'
Not unlike in a way Mingenew meetings run at Geraldton...one corp has Mingenew up and another has Geraldton. Another corp had it switched the other way around...Geraldton at Mingenew.