Tabcorp will begin the test phase of its new ‘One Pool’ project, a leadership initiative to unify Australia’s three state-based tote pools into a single wagering system.
Testing will begin on Thursday, 24 September, with meetings at Tamworth in New South Wales and Warwick (Queensland) as the first racetracks to initiate trials. Tabcorp has yet to confirm which individual races will be priced and offered through the unified pool.
One Pool has been spearheaded by Tabcorp Chief Executive Officer Gillon McLachlan and Chief Wagering Officer Michael Fitzsimons, who led negotiations with racing authorities across the NSW TAB, SuperTAB and UniTAB jurisdictions.
The project forms part of Tabcorp’s wider overhaul of its TAB wagering platform and Sky Racing media services, with the eventual launch set to feature refreshed broadcast graphics displaying fixed odds alongside a single national tote dividend.
Tabcorp is leading the unification as the only wagering operator with a foothold across all three wagering systems set to be folded into One Pool. Terms for the national tote were reached in July following nine months of negotiations between Tabcorp, its board and racing stakeholders across the three codes.
The project will bring together NSW TAB, which serves New South Wales; SuperTAB, covering Victoria, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory; and UniTAB, spanning Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
Collectively, the pools cover every Australian state and mainland territory, handing Tabcorp the national reach and infrastructure required to consolidate a fragmented tote market under one system.
Tabcorp promises big delivery
The trials will test a technology stack that has been co-engineered by Tabcorp’s wagering unit in partnership with the racing data and risk management solutions of BetMakers. The system has already been tested by BetMakers for the pricing of Tabcorp’s international racing pools.
The overhaul of TAB wagering systems, saw Tabcorp enter an agreement to acquire BetMakers for AUS $250m (£140m). The acquisition is undertaken to upgrade the Tabcorp’s technology stack ahead of key projects
Further testing is expected to take place across selected thoroughbred, harness and greyhound meetings before a full day of domestic trials, provisionally scheduled for Monday, 28 September.
Subject to the performance of the platform, Tabcorp is targeting the weekend of 3–4 October for the formal launch of One Pool. Tabcorp’s tote pools have been contracting by approximately 5–6% a year, while their contribution to group revenue has fallen from 50% in 2021/22 to around one-third.
Fitzsimons said at the time: “Delivering this has been the team’s focus for nine months, but they didn’t do it alone. The TAB board backed the vision and our racing partners across all three codes negotiated in good faith—all of which came together to turn an ambition into a deal.
“The opportunity for a revitalised tote with deeper pools, big jackpots, new products for customers and stronger returns for racing now sits in front of us. It won’t all happen overnight, but getting the platform in place is the critical step, and I’m proud to be part of the team that got it done.”
For Tabcorp, One Pool is more than a technology upgrade. The group is attempting to revive a parimutuel product that has steadily lost ground to fixed-odds wagering and online corporate bookmakers.
CEO McLachlan believes consolidating the pools will deepen liquidity and reduce sharp fluctuations in customer returns. Tabcorp also sees longer-term opportunities to introduce tote-exclusive products, larger jackpots and greater international co-mingling.
“A merged pool will increase liquidity for punters and create greater price stability,” McLachlan previously said when outlining the group’s strategy.
