Hyperbole prevailed this week, as chief execs of Australia’s Racing Board met in Melbourne to discuss the perceived threat of betting exchanges on Australian racing. ARB chairman Andrew Ramsden declared that: “Betting exchanges present the greatest threat to Australian racing as we know it in the 170-year history of our sport.”
”Anyone who thinks that good can come from turning millions of Australians into unlicensed bookmakers and encouraging punters to make money from horses losing rather than winning, “ he added, “is grossly naïve.”
Betfair’s Managing Director, Mark Davies, told the racing Post: “It’s no surprise that they have rehashed their Canute-like position in this manner, but in doing so they have only succeeded in further upsetting plenty of people here who want their country’s racing board to demonstrate that it can recognise opportunity, rather than being frightened by change to the long-term detriment of the sport.”
