Racing
Tab CEO Gil McLachlan Says National Tote Imminent
Tabcorp chief executive Gil McLachlan has given the best indication yet that a national tote could soon be a reality.
After McLachlan made a speech at the 41st Asian Racing Conference in Saudi Arabia's capital city Riyadh on Wednesday, he was asked by Racing And Sports about creating a national parimutuel product and replied: "We need to do it.''
"I think we have the support of the (racing) industry,'' McLachlan said.
"The tech solution is going well, we have regulatory support, but we know it is a journey.''
Since McLachlan took over the reins at Tabcorp about 18 months ago, a unified national tote has been high on his agenda.
McLachlan had previously stated he hoped to complete the integration of the national tote by the end of this financial year and although that June 30 deadline may or may not be achievable, he remains committed to the project.
"We have three totes and different regulators in each market,'' he said.
"We want the liquidity benefits of one tote and we are working hard on that.''
If McLachlan does orchestrate the formulation of a national tote pool, it will be the biggest change to totalisator betting in Australia since the TAB was introduced in Victoria in 1961.
In fact, "change" was the common theme of McLachlan's ARC address as he outlined how the betting organisation is repositioning itself to be more competitive in the wagering market.
McLachlan conceded Tabcorp had been slow to react to changes in the wagering landscape over the last two decades.
"We were a monopoly 25 years ago but we have been disrupted and on the wrong side of every macro force in wagering in the last 25 years,'' McLachlan said.
"Our monopoly instincts meant we were not able to innovate early enough. Our entitlement, our complacency and inability to accept the changing market meant we did not move and paid the price. Ultimately we lost market share.''
McLachlan has set about changing the culture and direction of the wagering giant.
"There's a new future, new plan,'' he said.
"We are moving toward our customers and their evolving needs.
"We are presenting differently, we are younger and more energetic, and we are trying to become part of the experience on course.''
Wagering is considered a mature betting market and Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges told the ARC on Tuesday that betting on racing has been "stagnant or declining" in most jurisdictions with racing's share of sports betting turnover falling at least 2 percent each year since 2021.
"The latest estimates put racing's share (of the sports betting market) at just 14 percent in 2025 with a further drop to 13 percent anticipated this year,'' Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
"Most worryingly, this has occurred at a faster rate than we expected.''
But McLachlan has an optimistic long-term view about the wagering market and believes the decline in betting turnover can be arrested.
"I believe so,'' he said. "There is still growth in the long term.''
However, McLachlan did agree with Engelbrect-Bresges' call for racing jurisdictions to overcome fragmentation and adopt a "global collaboration" policy to grow the sport.
"This would require 'leadership', it requires some of the industry leaders to come together and make some decisions,'' he said.
"I've heard for the last 30 hours here that everyone knows what the answers are to grow racing.
"Racing is an incredible sport with incredible opportunity - and it can be better.
"How do we globalise the product to help racing grow?. We need innovation, activation, alignment, global scheduling.
"Every person in racing knows that so how do we do this? With the leadership in this room because transforming customer behaviour is transforming industry behaviours.''
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