This was published 5 years ago
Betting turnover down on subdued Melbourne Cup Day
By Yan Zhuang and Patrick Hatch
Betting on a subdued Melbourne Cup was down this year and punters came out on top over bookies, piling onto a popular Australian racehorse who eventually won.
Australian wagering giants reported a decline in gambling on the Cup, with Tabcorp's final numbers showing a $160.7 million turnover on all races across the country, except Western Australia - down 5.9 per cent on last year.
Nick Sloman enjoying the spoils of a win on Cup Day - on a horse he couldn't remember the name of, in either race 7 or 8.Credit: Justin McManus
Meanwhile, turnover on the big race was down 7.8 per cent on last year to $106 million.
The Cup was unable to shake off the downward trend in betting across the spring racing carnival, with turnover on the Caulfield Cup on October 19 having fallen $31.4 million, or 24.6 per cent.
The victory of Australian-bred Vow and Declare favoured punters over bookmakers. Sportsbet and Tabcorp customers heavily backed the Cup-winning horse.
Tabcorp managing director of wagering Adam Rytenskild said the big race was a loss for TAB and a win for punters.
"Australians get on the Australian horse, they took a lot of money off us.
"The overall day itself is really good – I haven’t seen the overall end results yet, but activity is good thorugh the day," he said tackside.
Mr Rytenskild said the result of the contested third place was a swing of "millions" against TAB and in favour of punters.
Vow and Declare passes the finish post.Credit: Eddie Jim
Self-described punting advocate Richard Irvine said: "The Cup result was a good result for punters because it was an Australian horse close to favourite that won."
The odds this year were "not particularly competitive compared to years gone by", Mr Irvine said, and "definitely" less competitive than last year.
"The market's a bit depressed, it didn't really change for the Melbourne Cup."
It was a good day for punters at the Cup, not the bookies.Credit: Justin McManus
Racing Victoria chief executive Giles Thompson said: "It was a great race, and I suspect what happened this year is that the bookmakers suffered.
"With an Australian bred horse, and Australian-owned, Australian-trained, and Australian-ridden – it’d be un-Australian not to have backed it."
Some punters will be heading home with their pockets a little heavier. One lucky racegoer is now $60,000 richer after placing a $5000 bid at $12 on Monday, TAB reported.
Another enterprising punter who placed a $100 bid on the winning horse in June is now pocketing $20,100.
A $5000 multi bet placed at $28 on Vigere, who won race seven at Moonee Valley on November 1, and Vow and Declare will nab its owner a hefty $140,000.
Sportsbet reported one punter who nailed the First Four was paid a whopping $793,000 from a $10 bet.
Bookmakers avoided tech malfunctions this year after Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and online betting exchange Betfair all experienced website crashes in the lead-up to last year's race.
Betting was down, and so too was the crowd at Flemington. The Cup recorded it lowest attendance since 1995. On Tuesday, 81,408 people filed through the gates, compared to 83,411 last year and nearly 102,000 in 2015.
The industry has also been tarnished by the revelations of animal abuse, including the ABC's footage of racehorses being sent to a slaughterhouse, and Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Darren Weir facing animal cruelty charges over the alleged torture, abuse and over-working of horses.
The decline in wagering this spring racing season has been partly blamed on new point of consumption taxes levied on online bookmakers.
Those state-based taxes of 8 to 15 per cent has reined in Sportsbet, BetEasy, Ladbrokes and other online bookies' profit margins, making it harder for them to offer attractive odds and special offers, which in turn has made it less attractive for punters to gamble.
"We’re keen to sit down with Racing Victoria to work out how we can bring these people back," BetEasy chief executive Matt Trip said.
"Turnover has decreased on each of the major race days in the Melbourne spring carnival, and that continued on Melbourne Cup Day.
"There's been a drop in the number of people having a bet on the major races themselves and this has been enough to drive down overall turnover."