The ACT TAB would go it alone and if necessary undercut other TABs if it could not get a link with NSW, the Minister for Sport, David Lamont, said yesterday.
Mr Lamont was reporting on discussions he had the day before with the NSW Minister for Sport, Chris Downy, and responding to a press statement put out by Mr Downy headed “”NSW TAB door stays shut”.
Mr Lamont said it would be best for the ACT, NSW and the racing industry in both places if a pooling arrangement could be established following Victoria giving notice to the ACT that the ACT could no longer share in its TAB pool which is also linked with South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
Victoria gave notice following the ACT TAB’s controversial arrangement with VITAB, a Vanuatu betting company which gave VITAB access to the Victorian pool. Victoria was fearful Australian punters would be attracted to VITAB because the Vanuatu Government’s take was less and the punter’s return was higher.
Mr Downy has expressed the same fear for NSW, insisting that the VITAB deal be severed before the ACT could link with NSW. He has also insisted that arrangements be made to ensure no conflict in race meetings in the region.
Some Labor sources suggest that Mr Downy is playing with the issue to embarrass ACT Labor but will ultimately come to an agreement in the interests of both parties.
A spokesman for Mr Downy said Mr Downy was not playing politics.
“”The ACT is a very small fish i a big pond,” he said. “”They can go it alone, but it would be cutting off you nose to spite your face.”
As to the ACT under-cutting, he said that the other states would take steps to protect their revenue.
Mr Lamont said he recognised the need for Mr Downy to protect the interests of NSW racing industry and punters but he was confident a deal could be struck that was in the interests of both NSW and the ACT.
He and Mr Downy had agreed that a contract would be drawn up and the remaining issued be discussed.
However, if a deal were not struck, ACTTAB would continue. He acknowledged that Professor Dennis Pearce’s report into the VITABY affair had said ACTTAB would not be viable without a link to a major state, but said that assumed the existing break-up of turnover.
If the ACTTAB was left on its own, “”we would need to review how our TAB operates.”
He said it was not helpful to speculate precisely what would happen, but he did not rule out a decrease in the percentage the Government took in an attempt to win extra market share and increase turnover.
He would also review the $100,000 the ACT gave to racing in the South-East region of NSW from the bookies turnover tax.
He guaranteed ACTTAB would continue and the ACTTAB employees were secure.