barryb

Except if you had your way it would be still $5 to get into the movies & it would have closed 19yrs ago as it would have become uneconomic to remain open. However they as you say have lost you, your spending has gone elsewhere, yet they remain open & serving many whom are prepared to pay & attend at the prices they charge. Many on here say its successive mistakes made, shitty facilities, piss poor fields, not moving with the times that has contributed to NZ's fortunes or lack of. Yet Victorian racing is held up as a shining example of how it should be done. Obviously its not when you read that declining wagering revenue has seen $30m in budget cuts for this coming season, why has wagering revenue in Vic fallen off a cliff when they enjoy so many of things we would love to see here?. The outstanding fields running around each weekend hasn't seen the revenue tick up, there solution to reversing it is too increase the race cards on a Saturday to 10.

Yeah I can, you just supported my argument. So from what you state, you are far more likely to adopt an online form of entertainment like Netflix or Disney as its far more cost effective for you than going to an old Bricks & Mortar theatre that costs shitloads to maintain, staff etc. If you want to go along to the movies then be prepared to pay for it. Cool, I am 100% behind you, thanks for finally swinging behind my thinking.

No one disagrees with that, If you don't want Entain to close every single outlet in 2 yrs then come up with another way & real quick to keep them open. They are not slugs, they will have factored in attrition in closing outlets in the future. There future & the industry's future is technology based not a manned TAB counter taking $1 bets.

Mate come on, every one who goes through the door has a cost to serve, I really don't wont to get into how or why as thats yr 9 economics. So I am guessing you haven't taken the kids to the Movies or Rugby either as there costs haven't stayed the same over the years?

The harsh reality is the outlets are closing, they are closing because they are uneconomic, same reason why small banks are closing, the vast majority have moved online. One way to shift the economics is to encourage those who go to bet more, there are no knew customers wandering in the TAB outlet door, they are all on there phone/tablet. Yep its harsh to hear & I don't want to see anyone displaced from betting at all, but the reality is its not cost effective for Bricks & Mortar for a lot of businesses today & certainly not one that hasn't seen an increase in spending.

So you think the guy who walks in the door & puts $1 on for a win isn't costing the TAB anything? Stop comparing us to Aus, they are a totally different setup & Racing there is self funding.

I came to that conclusion as its a basic economic principle, the total cost to serve that $1 punter in an outlet or on course has skyrocketed in the last 20yrs , those $1 punters haven't got anymore economic in 20yrs, in fact the opposite. Of course there will be attrition of people leaving if you raise the bet value, but that's ok, the economics of holding onto them if they can't transition to online doesn't stack up. This is a business, not a charity, it doesn't need to hold onto customers because of nostalgia or because they have been loyal for 50yrs if they can't transition with the times. If they want to stay being served by an outlet and enjoy Saturday punting then they comply with the increased cost to serve & raise there bets to reflect. Now just think god forbid what will happen if they get a $10 winner with $5 on rather than $1, imagine the $50 winnings turning over through the outlet rather than the $5 from there $1 bet of the past.

Interestingly though those older people are able to find annually the cost of membership, buy expensive food & drink $10 beers, but can only place $1 bets?. Looking in the carpark on Saturday I saw many of them getting into nice late model vehicles, transport doesn't seem to hold back there spending either. Not every pensioner who bets on the races is on the bones of there arse.

You police it by having a min $5 bet, quite simple really. The problem with your 2nd statement is if you allow the $1 bettors then that's what you will get, a significant proportion of them will happily roll up into $5 bettors. Re-educating the uneconomic customer base makes extremely sound business sense, you want $1 bets then do it online, otherwise move to $5 bets & still receive face to face service.

How about its turned back on you & justify with financials as to why the change shouldn't happen.

Online is fine, anywhere there is a person conducting the transaction needs to be min $5. Its a loser for the TAB, which is why so many of them are shutting. Absolute no brainer, you pay for a service you receive & at the TAB its through a min $5 bet.

As I have said before in this thread, every single other thing has gone up in the last 20yrs, except for the $1 bet. 20yrs ago the person at the TAB counter was paid $25-$30k to serve that $1 bettor, now they are paid $60k. The premises rental has doubled or even tripled yet the $1 punter still comes in. Do you still think the cost to serve makes sense?.

The difference is it never existed here & will never exist, gambling & racing are seen as bad in NZ & no amount of puffery is going to change that image.

That might be so about scratchies, but even the scratchie buyer has moved to $3 or $5 tickets. Lotto spend per ticket has gone up. going to the Rugby is no longer $20, the Movies have skyrocketed in price yet people still go. Dining out & mains are no longer $25, all entertainment spend has increased yet we still accept that $1 bets are ok.

I was at Te Rapa yesterday in the Members & virtually no one was under 70, (apart from the Mrs & I) the vast majority were investing gold coin bets, but can find plenty to buy expensive food and drink. What you allow to happen will happen.

Bullshit Gruff, the cost to serve these $1 punters is more than is recovered. They have been punting $1 bets for 20plus years and investing $20 into there accounts for a Saturday’s racing. Please name 1 other thing you can do where you have been able to not increase the outlay over 20yrs. Groceries, rent, power, petrol, takeaways, have gone up 3 fold in the same time that they still place $20 into the account.

Yep, Leggy you are wrong here, it’s very unlikely that a flood or even a trickle of new punters is ever going to eventuate. What is far more likely and what’s needed is the $1 punter of which there are shitloads need to shift from $1 to $5. that’s the biggest hurdle facing racing is the casual punter hasn’t kept up with inflation of the last 20 yrs. The minimum bet should have been moved ages ago to $5 to force the situation. There are countless accounts where little to no money is invested week in week out or 50 $1 bets are placed, it’s lunacy that it’s still happening, they in all likelihood are costing more to serve than they return. After the 2 yrs if I was Entain I would be shifting to $5 min, having on course bookmakers at Saturday meetings where you can get 1 tick better odds than online,.

McD’s selling uncooked chicken burgers, student snapped masturbating at university library, PM and sausage rolls, Rolf Harris dead, Gwyneth Paltrow intends giving her dad a sex toy for Father’s Day, these are the real stories this week TA.

All racing needs reinvigorating in NZ, the public have lost interest in it. Jumps Racing needs investment across a range of areas, participants, the jumps themselves, the timing, 11am on a Sat doesn’t spur on investment from punters, prize money, a decent carnival.

The same mob that are banning vaping in Aus.

Oakbank oh yeah that’s right it’s social license expired.

No purpose bred jumpers, mostly failed flat gallopers given a new lease on life or older geldings seeing out there career.

I doubt anyone here wants to see 3 yr olds jumping firstly, the licence to operate from the public would bloody end quickly if we went down that track. The design of NZ race tracks don’t lend themselves too well to jumps racing either, the figure 8 at Trentham is good but the rest are not really up there when compared with a track like Warrnambool. Somewhere like Riverton with its more cross country course & Paeroa was cool when it operated.

Esp when you see how low the numbers were at Te Rapa on Saturday for the 2 jumps events. As a spectacle they are great to watch, but I think the stats show from a betting angle they are terrible for the punter & the TAB. The social licence to do it is coming to an end also, might have already finished if the general public took any notice of racing. However I think Greyhound racing will be cooked before jumping is done.