Tabcorp’s Gil McLachlan runs the gauntlet of angry country publicans
If the former AFL chief executive can pull it off, the wagering giant could become a major threat to the big international bookmakers that have cut its lunch.
The Australian Hotels Association’s Stephen Ferguson and Tabcorp chief executive Gillon McLachlan are on a collision course over changes to how wagering runs in pubs.
The Cobargo Hotel is the centre of town, a sleepy village of 800 people on the Princes Highway as it winds itself south from Sydney and into Victoria. It is also the front line of what could be an almighty brawl between hundreds of country publicans and one of the country’s biggest corporate bookmakers, ASX-listed wagering giant Tabcorp.
For years, Tabcorp has drifted along, losing market share to international rivals such as Sportsbet and Ladbrokes, stuck with monopoly agreements to operate in shops and pubs that were once lucrative and are now increasingly a millstone. Punters, unsurprisingly, are happier to place bets using a phone app rather than through ageing pub terminals.
Sarah PettyProperty reporterSarah Petty covers commercial and residential property markets for The Australian Financial Review, based in the Melbourne newsroom. Email Sarah at sarah.petty@afr.com
