tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50810532334618443352024-02-08T04:06:39.346-08:00A view from Barnes villageMDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-73406132174734141072010-10-09T02:35:00.001-07:002010-10-09T02:37:38.293-07:00www.markxdavies.com<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Please note that this blog has moved! </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If you are looking for my thoughts on integrity in sport, funding of sport, the racing industry, and the betting industry (and a tale or two about how we started Betfair and some of the happenings in the first decade), please visit www.markxdavies.com</span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-15936064947647072982010-08-09T06:46:00.000-07:002010-08-09T12:56:45.369-07:00Moving home<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Well, not me. But my blog. It's not the reason that I haven't posted anything for a week: that's for a combination of being very busy, and not having anything particularly interesting to write!</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But in the interim, my blog has been moving. You can now find it at <a href="http://www.markxdavies.com/">www.markxdavies.com</a>, complete with cheesy photo. Not all the links on it are working at the moment - it's work in progress - but I'll be updating it there from now on.<br /><br />Many thanks indeed to Nick Garner for having worked tirelessly to help me out.</span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-29442015981888145762010-08-09T06:42:00.001-07:002010-08-09T08:57:40.167-07:00Economist debate<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Very interesting, if </span></span><a href="http://www.economist.com/debate/overview/178"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">you didn't see it</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. Not least for the closeness of the vote.</span></span>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-56923950843148037062010-07-30T10:42:00.000-07:002010-08-02T02:23:56.291-07:00Peter V'Landys interview<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I came across this </span></span><a href="http://www.racingnsw.com.au/site/_content/Audio/00000023-source.mp3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">piece of audio</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, in relation to the vote of no confidence which I mentioned </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/07/judgment.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">before</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I post it without comment. It speaks for itself.</span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-53310431055142627902010-07-30T02:54:00.000-07:002010-08-02T02:23:39.040-07:00Old hat, new hat<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It's all been kicking off, everywhere you look: Ladbrokes are in the frame to get the wagering licence in Victoria; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/7916668/Net-gaming-firms-hope-luck-in-US-has-turned.html">Barney Frank's bill has got out of Committee</a> (hoorah, hoorah); William Hill are moving their telephone betting operation offshore; and Bwin and Party have finally announced what we know they've been talking about for years, that they're going to merge. The times, they are a-changing. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Maybe, maybe not. As half the world moves towards the future, the other half is intent on trying to legislate for the 20th century. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Let's start abroad. Greece, it would appear, want to introduce a high turnover tax </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">a la francaise </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and limit the number of operators, in the belief that this is the path to the future; Cyprus, rumour has it, has similar plans; and the French themselves are </span></span><a href="http://www.igamingfrance.com/exclusif-16-des-19-sites-mis-en-demeure-par-larjel-reveles/10561"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">running around trying to enforce their absurd legislation</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, today </span></span><a href="http://www.gamblingcompliance.com/node/43826"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">taking seven ISPs to court</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to ensure that they block access to sites. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Good luck with that, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">mes amis</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, although it strikes me as being a bit like Agincourt: a battle you're never going to win. The Right2Bet campaign highlighted this week just how </span></span><a href="http://www.right2bet.net/community/blog/2010/07/eu-consumers-left-drastically-short-changed-by-state-gambling-monopolies.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">short-changed European consumers are</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> by countries which are seeking to limit choice in a way that they'd never get away with for any other industry, and whatever you do try to the ISPs, consumers today will vote with their mice: unless you have the co-operation of the betting operators, attempts to prohibit are doomed to fail, as the United States has clearly shown. </span></span><a href="http://www.igaming-monaco.com/resources/press/3_dossjeuxilleg_fr_light.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">All sorts of sources</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> suggest that the number of offerings is spiralling, a process accelerated if consumers are forced to look outside the country for a product which satisfies their demands. (Incidentally, I wrote snippets about this last month but only got around to publishing them </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/and-on-it-rises.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">today</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Other newly-published short thoughts appear </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/charging-towards-turnover.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> about Australia, and</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/friendbet.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> about the French, and I've also put up a posting about </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/svenska-spel.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Svenska Spel</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">). </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I know: I'm boring; I say it all the time. But sometimes, things people say all the time make for front page news. Like today, for example. Victor Chandler, a man previously notable for saying of betting exchanges that "the only thing wrong with them is that I wish I'd thought of them first" calls for action on "exchange layers", and it leads the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Racing Post</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In itself, a call for 'action on layers' can't constitute a news item. (Indeed, you would think that <i>anything</i> on the levy debate didn't constitute news any more... It's been rumbling on for so long and there's been so much said and written about it; although if you're a levy debate junkie, <a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/dixon-and-blatter.html">I</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/dixon-and-blatter.html"> have posted a previously-unpublished post on it today</a>). But here's the twist... Chandler says that if every lay bet were treated as a bet by a bookmaker, he would pay levy from his offshore business and encourage others to do the same. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Excuse me for a moment while I pick myself up off the floor and put my cotton socks back on, but this must be one of the funniest things I've heard in a decade.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For starters, I can't see why anyone thinks it is relevant to listen to a point about levy from a man who, as I understand it, has been offshore and therefore not paying it since around 1995 (on anything other than one shop in Mayfair).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But more importantly, the premise of his argument is hugely ironic. Because if anything in the world proves the fallacy of the oft-cited adage that Betfair's prices are better than anyone else's </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"because its layers don't have to take into account the costs a bookmaker would have"</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, then it is Victor Chandler's business.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Why? Because ultimately, the point that is always made is that it's too hard for bookmakers to compete with Betfair's prices because Betfair's prices, so the story goes, are made by people who don't have to account for tax and levy. But Victor Chandler makes his prices without having to account for tax or levy either, so how come his prices aren't the same as Betfair's?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Of course, the reason is that the pricing of bets has nothing to do with the levy debate at all</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> The price differential is created by superior risk-management: Betfair manages risk perfectly, and so doesn't have to add a risk premium into its prices. The commercial margin of both exchanges and traditional operators is not all that different, which is why the price differential on football is so much less obvious (with fewer outcomes to add risk premium for) than it is on horseracing.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Which brings me back full circle to William Hill's decision to move their telephone business offshore. Ralph Topping cited as the reason for the announcement "Government’s inertia over the issue of creating a level tax and regulatory playing field. William Hill," he continued, "pays more in taxes and levies than it makes in profit while the betting exchanges flourish under a favourable system where they only account for taxes and levies on the commission they charge to exchange users." </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ignore the fact that the commission that Betfair charges its users is the differential between what Betfair take in in losses and what they pay out in winnings, which was what William Hill got charged on too, last time I looked. Instead, consider the thoughts of a coffee companion of mine on Tuesday - a man who left the horseracing industry back in 2003. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"It's hilarious," he said to me. "If I stepped back into horseracing today, I could pick up exactly where I was when I left off. It's all the same arguments, with all the same rhetoric. You'd think they'd have worked it all out by now. When will they see the light? The rest of the world's moving on." </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So the times are indeed a-changing, at least for some. How ironic that it's the French who should sum it up so well: </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-47702032997947648632010-07-21T16:02:00.000-07:002010-07-21T17:10:49.829-07:00Update<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It's been another long but interesting day. In just short of three weeks since I left Betfair, I've picked up a couple of clients; am pursuing a number of interesting leads for whom I am in the process of writing proposals; have been roped onto one Board and another Advisory Board; and am now hiring. It's been quite a whirlwind of meetings, absorbing advice from all quarters, and trying to get used to the shortcut keys on my new Apple Mac.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In the midst of all of which, the endless stream of meals and drinks appears to have continued unabated, and the only thing suffering is my waistline. Thankfully, between servings I've had time to fit in a couple of pummellings on the tennis court, so all is not yet lost. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I met up on Monday night with an old adversary from Ladbrokes, who was among the first to suggest a beer on hearing the news of my leaving Betfair. Wags out there have been quick to insinuate that opponents who have suggested getting together have just done so to make damn bloody sure I'm off; but if that's been the intention, they've all been great company while they check on my departure. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Monday's couple of beers in Cork Street, round the corner from Ladbrokes' corporate office, consisted mainly of highly-enjoyable industry tittle-tattle. Included, inevitably, was discussion around the apparently mass departures of PR people from betting companies, what with Neal Wilkins and David Hood following me swiftly through the exit door. Who would ever have imagined that articles would one day be published mentioning Hoodie and me in the same paragraph, with no apparent mention of a fight...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Talking of fights, I lunched yesterday with a racing journalist and broadcaster with among the most forthright views in the business. Unfortunately I had to leave with only the single bottle of wine consumed, so the level of invective was lower than we've become accustomed to together over the years. We laughed at the news that one of racing's advisors is running around telling people I lost my job because I was rubbish at it, didn't have a decent argument to put, and couldn't put it anyway. He used to work with me, so I guess he ought to know...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Someone else who used to work with me made for another lunching companion today: Betfair's first proper commercial director, Tim Levene. I say 'proper', because in the very early days, I was in charge of the company's business development; and indeed Tim (who was at Flutter) and I were direct competitors. That was before the merger saw him take reins to which I was ill-suited (thereby saving the business, I suspect) and me move to a pure communications role; but after, amusingly and completely by coincidence, I had gone to see him - before either Betfair or Flutter launched - with a view to working for him at a betting start-up still hiding under the cover name of 'Insight Markets'. (He didn't hire me. I can't believe we still speak. :))</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We ate at a Japanese restaurant on St. James's which seriously ought to be used as a set in a Bond film (if it hasn't been already), and discussed business ideas and strategies. Tim's dad is Chairman of Lloyds and was formerly Lord Mayor of London. I suspect Tim will be both before he's 45. I leave every lunch I have with him feeling well-fed, full of bonhomie, and entirely dubious about my own ability to do anything.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It wasn't because of that that I spent the rest of the day taking advice from various quarters about Camberton, honest: those meetings were set up well before! But I had a full afternoon and evening getting helpful hints and tips from kind people who are giving me the benefit of their knowledge about company infrastructure and visibility. One wishes to remain anonymous; the second, Will Rolt, take a bow. Thanks for your help.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">By the by, if you're terribly interested in what I think the relevance of Betfair's Premium Charge is to the debate over levy, you can find out about it </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/premium-charge-and-levy.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. If you're not, you might be happy with the short version: "it isn't".</span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-14948942914151237252010-07-19T14:56:00.000-07:002010-07-20T01:16:29.868-07:00Australia, Australia, Australia<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In between charging from pillar to post today, during which I picked up an exciting new client, I've been enjoying </span></span><a href="http://formguide.cyberhorse.com.au/index.php/2010071844581/Industry/war-without-end.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">another fabulous piece of analysis from Cyberhorse</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> on the SMH advert that </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/07/judgment.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I mentioned yesterday</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I don't have time to write anything else today, and if you have a spare moment, you'll want to be reading that anyway... But as it happens I've written plenty more about Australia in the last month which I have not yet published: if you're interested, you can see thoughts about the court case over there </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/racing-nsw-case.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/more-on-australia.html">here</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, and the stuff I wrote relating to the Productivity Commission report </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/productivity-commission.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-44514731225286136102010-07-16T01:39:00.000-07:002010-07-16T05:21:06.414-07:00Judgment<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I received a text yesterday morning from a name well-known in the racing industry which read: "Have you seen the news about the Findlay fine? It makes the BHA look like twats."</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Harsh words, perhaps, but to the point. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I can picture much wailing and gnashing of teeth on High Holborn. But as I mentioned </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/07/harry.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">yesterday</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, they need only create a decent rule and they wouldn't get themselves into this sort of pickle. I see </span></span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/jul/16/harry-findlay-appeal-ban-rule"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Greg Wood has written as much</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> in typically robust and sensible terms in the Guardian today. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I lunched soon after (someone asked me in the afternoon if all I do is have lunch and dinner; not far off, I admit) with another racing face, whose view it is that there'll be a change of leadership by November, on the grounds that increasing numbers of people are scratching their heads in dismay at the insistence on a strategy and numbers never justified when they were announced in 2008 (before the world's economy fell apart), but adhered to since, nonetheless; and supported with dubious theories and crazy plans. There are previously unpublished posts relating to each which I have published today </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/strike.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">here </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">and </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/evening-standard.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Meanwhile, Down Under, it appears possible that Peter V'Landys time as Chief Executive of NSW is finally drawing to a close. If you compare the interviews he is giving </span></span><a href="http://www.racingnsw.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=8727"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">newspapers </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">and the adverts that his organisation is putting out about there being a logic to their strategy (in the <a href="http://smhformguide.realviewtechnologies.com/">Sydney Morning Herald today</a> on page 36) with the no-confidence vote they are receiving from the trainers in their state - brilliantly, as ever, written up by </span></span><a href="http://formguide.cyberhorse.com.au/index.php/2010071244479/Industry/the-particpants-are-revolting.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Bill Saunders on Cyberhorse</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> - you will draw your own conclusions about that particular racing leader's rationality.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Me? Well, no time for that. I'm off for another client pitch. :)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-15711897087119776302010-07-14T00:08:00.001-07:002010-07-14T00:20:29.430-07:00Harry<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I've been asked my view a number of times about the Harry Findlay laying story which goes to appeal today.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I haven't changed my opinion on the rule he has fallen foul to since it first came in: I think it is a bad rule which doesn't address the issue it purports to deal with, when a small tweak to it could make it a good rule that does. That's what I told John McCririck when he interviewed me at Sandown the evening that it was introduced, back in 2003 (I think it was).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It seems to me perfectly sensible to ban owners from being in a position that they profit from their horses losing - I am not sure that anyone would argue with that - but in my opinion that needs to be done </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">howsoever they will profit</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. That ought to mean not being able to back another horse in the race to beat your own. It's about time racing's authorities and rules recognised what DCMS long ago pointed out: that backing and laying are two sides of the same ccoin. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It should obviously also mean not laying your own, but crucially that rule should in my view be extended to "to a position of net profit if it loses". The idea that you cannot lay back a back bet, if in doing so you are reducing your net backing position or locking in a profit on a previous bet is stuck in the dark ages. If there's an audit trail to prove that you are a net backer of the beast, and you stand to make more money from it winning than you do from it losing, then I think you should be able to lay it as many times as you like.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-19657763250393392092010-07-13T13:08:00.000-07:002010-07-13T13:28:02.656-07:00Integrity issues<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">There seems to have been a lot of stuff this week on issues relating to integrity in sport. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I got a call on Friday from Newsnight ahead of the piece they put out about Nigeria's football team; I saw there was speculation around tennis with news that </span></span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20100709/ca_pr_on_te/20100709_ten_irregular_betting"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">officials were assessing reports of irregular betting on a first-round match</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> between Richard Bloomfield and Christophe Rochus at the Hall of Fame grass-court tournament in Newport, R.I.; and I was delighted to see the announcement of an </span></span><a href="http://www.liveoddsandscores.com/news/press-releases/4211053/betfair-sponsor-the-british-athletes-commission-to-improve-athlete-awareness"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">education deal with the British Athletes' Commission</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> brokered by my old colleague Susannah Gill.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was surprised to see Patrick Collins of the Mail on Sunday, a journalist I normally very much enjoy reading for his in-depth knowledge, </span></span><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1293694/PATRICK-COLLINS-Spain-magicians-weve-got-man-whistle.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">have a go</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> at the last of those. "If there were no sports gambling industry," he wrote, "there would be no question of corruption, nor any need to ‘safeguard the integrity of sport’". </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Of the many places I might direct you, Patrick, can I suggest you have a look at </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sox_Scandal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">this</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-82978450447676108482010-07-13T12:41:00.000-07:002010-07-13T12:50:52.823-07:00Poker push<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Interesting that within a week of each other, both Time magazine (sadly, subscription only) and the </span></span><a href="http://www.economist.com/node/16507670?story_id=16507670"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Economist</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> have had big 'special report' pieces on the changing face of poker, and the quantum of gambling that is taking place online out of the United States, despite it supposedly still being illegal. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Someone out there in the PR world is doing a good job!</span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-84568358698238897982010-07-13T11:30:00.001-07:002010-07-13T12:04:33.835-07:00Sharpe, and not so sharp<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The news today was full of the fact that it is 25 years since Live Aid, but every bulletin I heard neglected to mention that yesterday was twenty years since the American jockey Chip Termini was suspended for 30 days for dropping his towel as he emerged from the shower at Louisiana Downs in full view of a 'jockette'.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">You think I'm kidding? It's 100% true: and I know it because it's the 'Strangest Event' listed in the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Racing Almanac </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">given to me this afternoon by its author, Graham Sharpe of William Hill. He was kind enough to invite me out following news of my heading for pastures new ten days ago, and we ended a very agreeable, anecdote-filled, lunch with him signing a copy he had brought along specially. I've been perusing it ever since, and very interesting it is too.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I went from lunch to chew the fat with an old friend in Westminster, who was full of interesting snippets himself. Much of the hour-and-a-half we spent together over a mid-afternoon bottle of wine was split between bemusement and amusement at the </span></span><a href="https://www.britishhorseracing.presscentre.com/Press-Releases/2011-RACING-FIXTURES-DELAYED-AS-UNCERTAINTY-ABOUT-LEVY-INCOME-BITES-13f.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">latest public offering from the BHA</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, published yesterday (apparently in a fit of pique) and entertainingly </span></span><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/bitter-funding-battle-leaves-racing-stranded-in-the-stalls-2025216.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">written up in today's </span></span></a><i><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/bitter-funding-battle-leaves-racing-stranded-in-the-stalls-2025216.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Independent </span></span></a></i><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/bitter-funding-battle-leaves-racing-stranded-in-the-stalls-2025216.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">by James Moore</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, who clearly read the press release with an eyebrow raised in the manner of his namesake. The 'it's everyone else's fault!' approach also seemed to be the much-derided subject of most of the discussions I joined last night at Windsor, where many racing stakeholders were the guests of Arena Leisure at their annual world-beating barbecue. Making friends and influencing people, I think it would be fair to say, the BHA is currently not.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Previously-unpublished posts today, if you care, are put out </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/boa-ac.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">here </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/paddy-powers-turnover-tax-call.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-79943342489986751832010-07-09T00:38:00.000-07:002010-07-09T00:44:35.218-07:00Bwin<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">Just seen </span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6661KZ20100707"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">the news about Bwin </span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">re-branding Italy's Serie-B as Serie-Bwin.<br /><br />You've got to give the credit for ingenuity. It really raised a smile.</span>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-78453580209729290002010-07-09T00:08:00.000-07:002010-07-09T00:45:20.356-07:00Onwards and upwards<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">It's Betfair's 10th anniversary party tonight at the HAC in the City - what I suspect will be a fabulous event given the hard work that I know has gone into it from the events team.<br /><br />Many Betfairians have sent me notes asking if they will see me there, but disappointingly, the answer is no: sadly my ten years as an employee fell a week short of the official celebration, so I'm no longer invited. Lucky people who joined the company this week and can attend after five days' service!<br /><br />I had a successful day yesterday meeting three potential clients, so I'm spending the day writing them a few thoughts about how they might take their ideas forward.<br /><br />Fresh back-catalogue posts today </span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/paul-roy.html"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">here </span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">and </span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/betting-in-cash.html"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">here</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">.</span>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-7915877693971728962010-07-08T00:52:00.000-07:002010-07-08T00:59:35.601-07:00Clients and back catalogue<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It's been an incredible week. This time seven days ago was my last day employed by Betfair.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I have finally replied to the mails that I was sent, and this morning will embark on the voicemails which I have not been able to get around to yet. And I'm running off this morning to meet a potential client - my third in two days - so, fingers crossed.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">With all this running around, I'm resorting to previously-unpublished posts on subjects which remain current, for those wanting something new to read. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If you're interested, you can see them </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/thinking-out-of-box.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">here </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/technology.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></div></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-66964129764164391342010-07-07T05:24:00.000-07:002010-07-07T05:25:59.221-07:00Two oldies<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I've published two old posts today, if you're interested: </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/06/sex.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">here </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">and </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/ways-and-means-hearing.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">.</span></span>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-25058956861554759762010-07-07T03:34:00.000-07:002010-07-07T04:19:47.026-07:00Come on down - the price is right!<p class="MsoPlainText"></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">There is a certain gameshow feel to the </span></span><a href="http://www.hblb.org/document.php?id=361&search="><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Levy Board's statement</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> that it is opening a consultation on whether Betfair has any customers who are liable for levy.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I can almost picture them hiring Cilla Black to make the announcement, given David Zeffman's article in May's <i>Racing Post</i>, which so obviously heralded the start of a concerted campaign that </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/olswang-once-more-unto-breach.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I wrote at the time</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">, "I guess that only if the HBLB were suddenly to open up a consultation exercise on the issue on the back of the article, might the view that [the newspaper] was wittingly or unwittingly kicking off a campaign be reinforced."</span></span></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Surprise, Surprise!</span></span></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Perhaps the Nic Coward view is that if this time, racing plays its cards right, it might get what it has failed to get in every past exploration of this subject. Presumably Stuart Hall will be next up, declaring on Coward's behalf that "It's A Knock-Out!" and revealing the killer blow. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Except, a cursory glance at the Levy Board's consultation announcement reveals that there is nothing new in the paper. As Martin Cruddace, Betfair's Legal Director, declared in a statement published by the company yesterday, "After a thorough, independent review of this very issue throughout 2004 and 2005, the Treasury came to the conclusion that the treatment of betting exchanges and their customers was fair. Since then, there has not been one scrap of evidence produced by anyone to suggest the situation has changed". </span></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Indeed, the opening section of the Levy Board's consultation document merely reiterates the extent to which we have covered all this ground before; and paragraph 112 is extraordinary: "First, there is a difficulty with a necessary premise: that there are customers of a betting exchange who are carrying on a business. That is ultimately a question of fact which would need to be demonstrated and in truth cannot be. Leaving aside that fatal initial objection, the following points arise." </span></span></p> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So to my mind, this seems to me an admission that the Levy Board already knows that it is about to draw another Blankety Blank. Although I received an e-mail yesterday from one of my favourite racing journalists, who told me that, "David Zeffman I know not. What I do know is that bookmakers operate their business (rather than stand, uselessly, at the course) on Betfair.... Love you to death, love Betfair to death - but none of you are bookmakers and the nuances (dark arts) of racecourse betting are perhaps not your strong suit", in reality, perception and fact here are a long way apart. </span></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">While people might be making money as punters, that doesn't make any of them bookies. And as I tried to explain to Racing many times when it was my job to give a monkey's about it, laws, and law enforcement, need to be based on something other than rhetoric. Unfortunately for Racing, rhetoric is all that Nic Coward has on his side in this debate. </span></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">To give him credit, at times that rhetoric is Shakespearean in its stature. But at others, like in <a href="http://www.britishhorseracing.presscentre.com/content/detail.aspx?ReleaseID=316&NewsAreaId=2">his statement yesterday</a>, it is laughably poor. So desperate is he to connect Betfair to racing's ills, that he name-checked it in isolation in the most absurd manner, apparently missing completely the fact that the company has decided to pay a voluntary contribution to racing directly into projects of its choosing, rather than into coffers he controls. That decision, taken while I still worked there, was the direct result of Nic's approach to running the sport: he gave Betfair no credit for its voluntary contribution (despite the fact that it was unique at the time it was paid); he <a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/02/method-or-madness.html">insisted it was not levy at all</a>, but a payment Betfair should do what it wanted with; and he spent much of it on legal fees aimed at damaging the company's business. </span></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">It continues to pain me, even in my post-Betfair world, that he should keep leading Racing on a hopeless cause, just as it does that people in racing should blindly follow him. There are so many other things they need to get on and address, and their task in addressing them gets harder with every day that they waste tilting at windmills.</span></span></p><p></p>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-52533458831055143762010-07-05T01:11:00.000-07:002010-07-05T01:23:55.909-07:00Swamped<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I've been totally swamped by kind messages following my posting with news of my resignation on Friday, and I will be spending my morning trying to answer the 400-odd e-mails I've received before I head to a lunch. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It's been really extremely flattering to receive so many messages of support, both from people inside the company and outside; and both from those I have always known to be good friends, and from others who have traditionally been on the other side of the divide from me. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Tim Ryan, who famously once tried to get me arrested in Australia on the grounds that I was apparently running an illegal gambling operation (a blog for the future, perhaps), sent a note wishing me good luck; and first on the telephone at 9am was Ralph Topping to say all the best. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Wags will doubtless suggest that he was calling in delight at seeing the back of me, but nothing could be further from the truth: in fact, he was extremely kind and generous in his assessment of my Betfair career. Not that that surprises me about him: Ralph was the subject of one of my unpublished posts from my back catalogue, which I have today posted </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/ralph-topping.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. Another old post which I couldn't publish previously has gone up </span></span><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/growing-black-market.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So, the first working day of my post-Betfair career is going to be an even more e-mail-filled one than was my time spent there. Which means, not a lot of time to blog. We'll save that for later in the week.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-91444199984037044372010-06-30T23:51:00.000-07:002010-07-02T00:50:26.305-07:00Dorset Rise<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">There was a certain irony to the start of my day yesterday. I went to a Social Mentoring briefing at KPMG's offices, which meant walking up the hill between Tudor Street and Fleet Street along a small road called Dorset Rise.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">It was on that very street, in December 1999, that my senior salesman at the time chatted to me, unknowingly, about the multiple moonlighting from JPMorgan that had seen me taking numerous days off over the previous few months to fulfil commitments with BBC Sport and the Daily Telegraph. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">He put his arm around me and said, "Mark: can I just say, as we head into the new year and a new decade, that I hope your luck changes... I've never known someone suffer so much illness, the loss of two family members, and the death of so many friends in one year." It was at that moment that I realised that doing two jobs alongside my main contracted one was untenable in the longer term, and I resolved to quit.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So it was ironic that I should have found myself on that same street yesterday morning, the very morning that I quit the job that I went to from JP, at Betfair. Ten years on from last resolving to do so, I have resigned.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">It's been fun. But in recent months I haven't been able to offer Betfair as much as I'd like to of what I think I am best at; so I think it's time to move on to new things. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I have set up a company of my own, Camberton, which will offer to a broader church (i.e. I'm on the look-out for clients!) the sort of thing that I have been responsible for at Betfair over the last decade: reputation management, public affairs, PR, communications, and external stakeholder management. It's something I have talked about for a long time and now is the time to do it. And I'm pleased that Betfair think I still have a role in offering that kind of thing to them, because they are my first client! Many of the challenges that I have worked on for them remain, and I will be continuing to advise and work with them on those for at least the next twelve months.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">On that, I've had various thoughts, which I have been jotting down but not publishing, on many of the industry issues in recent months. Now that it is clear that the thoughts are mine and not an official Betfair position, I'll stick them out over the coming days and weeks for those who are interested, in the order I wrote them, starting </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/olswang-once-more-unto-breach.html">here</a> and <a href="http://markxdavies.blogspot.com/2010/05/pr-week-and-integrity-in-sport.html">here</a>. </span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-37999316094871652622010-06-29T06:42:00.001-07:002010-07-30T03:31:33.771-07:00Friendbet<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was interested to see that a company called </span><a href="http://www.friendbet.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Friendbet </span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">has been licensed to operate in France.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I always knew the French hadn't understood what a betting exchange was.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">They set out to ban exchanges, and came out with legislation that they think has done it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And then they license Friendbet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What do they think that is, if not an exchange?</span><br /><div> </div></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-5925378301912224302010-06-28T07:23:00.000-07:002010-07-30T03:37:37.112-07:00Dixon and Blatter<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I read </span></span><a href="http://www.racehorseowners.net/roanews_story.asp?releaseID=491"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">the comments from Paul Dixon</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> about the need to return to a turnover-based levy system with my head in my hands. It's taken me 48 hours to get them out again, and even know I wonder if it is worth writing about which bit of it I found the saddest.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Perhaps it was the particular and pointed exoneration of Sportingbet for paying a voluntary levy suspected to be in five figures, without mention of the voluntary levy paid by Betfair, which is comfortably into seven.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Or maybe it was hearing that notion repeated that a turnover system, which in my view encourages a high margin from operators and therefore will ultimately kill the racing completely in a competitive world, is somehow a lifeline. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I'm not sure. But it reinforced my view that racing continues to be led by people who claim in one breath to want innovation, and then with the next want to pick and choose parts of an innovative model, as if doing so doesn't destroy the whole.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I saw a great Tweet from BBC Sport's Jacqui Oatley thi</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">s weekend, which read, "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Blatter saying there's no need for goal-line technology is like your grandpa saying the internet's pointless." </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I would categorise Paul Dixon's comments in the same category, because he insists</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> - in line with racing's other 'leaders' - that the levy is having problems because of the single most notable innovation in betting in the last decade. The reason that the levy is struggling, he says, is that the betting landscape has changed because of "the extraordinary growth of betting exchanges. Exchanges have changed the whole dynamics of betting in recent years and, in particular, they have had a major effect on margins. Indeed, a by-product of returning to a turnover system would deal with the problem that racing has with the exchanges not paying an adequate amount into the Levy in one fell swoop – they would simply be paying a lot more than they are now.” </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Leave aside the clear demonstration from this excerpt that </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">the levy debate has nothing at all to do with what is right or logical, and everything to do with the 'we just want more money' attitude that is endemic in racing's upper echelons; and consider instead what that statement is actually saying. If you ask me, it reads, "the betting industry has moved towards the future; racing's response should be to try to stifle its innovation by moving back to the past."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Dixon for the FIFA job, perhaps?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-35906912622229563272010-06-24T14:37:00.000-07:002010-07-19T14:57:55.141-07:00Productivity Commission<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It doesn't surprise me to find myself amused by </span><a href="http://www.superracing.com.au/heraldsun/story/Tabcorp-RVL-align-against-report/15493"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">the reaction of Tabcorp's Chief Executive to the findings of the Productivity Commission report in Australia</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, but somehow, despite everything, I still find myself astonished at the way some people believe that they have a right to protection from market forces that everyone else has to deal with as a way of life.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />I'm not suggesting that everything in life should happen without regard to potential consequences, but to argue that the Productivity Commission's report 'shows a serious lack of understanding of these industries, both in Australia and around the world" is just arrogant and insulting. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I would say precisely the contrary is true: the report shows a complete understanding of the industries and the issues, and, shaking its head in bewilderment at the way in which those who are part of them believe that they should be able to maintain the status quo which has seen them spend many years in the sun, it suggests ways to allow more people to play.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cyberhorse </span><a href="http://formguide.cyberhorse.com.au/index.php/2010062344159/Industry/productivity-commission-gets-it-right.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">put it like this yesterday</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">: "This clutch of multi-millionaires want a racing industry structured so that literally millions of little people - punters, low paid workers, small breeders and hobby owners, dutifully contribute to bloated service fees and artificially inflated bloodstock values. They have achieved this position over a long time by basically ignoring the Trade Practices Act and the Australian Constitution, arranging state laws and Rules of Racing to bolster their position."</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"></span></span></span></div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">For the second time in a week, well said Bill Saunders.</span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-18812168361792418102010-06-24T04:35:00.000-07:002010-07-30T03:30:36.189-07:00Svenska Spel<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Really, you have to laugh your little cotton socks off.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Although, inexplicably, I can't find a link to the press release on the web, among ones which laud their brilliance in combatting problem gambling and things, I gather from other websites that </span></span><a href="http://www.thelocal.se/27414/20100623"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Svenska Spel have fired their CEO</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This in itself is not amusing. I'm sorry for the lady. No-one wants to lose a job.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But it's when you get lines like this in news reports that you have to suppress a smile:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px; "><b><span style=" color: rgb(192, 0, 0); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">During Persdotter’s first quarter in charge, net gaming revenues at Svenska Spel’s online division fell 15 per cent for poker while lotteries fell 18 per cent, games fell 10 per cent and sportsbetting fell 3.5 per cent. The company however welcomed the decline as evidence of the effectiveness of newly introduced responsible gaming measures and a reduction in marketing expenditure.</span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">On that basis, why fire your CEO for 'mixed results'?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The hypocrisy of the monopoly systems around Europe has surely never been laid barer. You're hired to introduce measures to limit gambling because it sounds good politically in defending your monopoly to the European Commission, but when you are entirely successful in doing that, you lose your job.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Let's just admit what we all always knew, that they don't want gambling limited at all: they just want the people who can profit from it limited. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In firing their CEO, Svenska Spel have just proved it.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-59940720724901232892010-06-21T14:17:00.000-07:002010-07-19T14:57:04.014-07:00More on Australia<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">There's some great stuff appearing on the court decision in Australia.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">If you've missed them, there's another brilliant piece from Cyberhorse </span></span><a href="http://formguide.cyberhorse.com.au/index.php/2010062044105/Industry/brown-breaks-the-first-rule-of-holes.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. And Betfair's Australian CEO Andrew Twaits gives his view of the world </span></span><a href="http://andrewtwaits.betfair.com.au/2010/06/betfair-v-racing-nsw-harness-racing-nsw-my-take-on-the-federal-courts-decision/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">.</span></span></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5081053233461844335.post-5922543299534858072010-06-17T00:45:00.001-07:002010-07-19T14:56:06.940-07:00Racing NSW case<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The reaction to the judgment handed down in </span></span><a href="http://www.racingandsports.com.au/racing/rsNewsArt.asp?NID=179345&story=Judgment_In_Betfair_And_Sportsbet_Matters"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Betfair's case against Racing New South Wales</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> is fascinating. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><a href="http://formguide.cyberhorse.com.au/index.php/2010061644031/Industry/dumb-and-dumber.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Some have pointed out</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> that there are fairly technical reasons for Betfair's case being dismissed (the judge accepting that the turnover fee was discriminatory in favour of TabCorp and against Betfair, but dismissing the claim that it was protectionist), such that the eventual outcome may well change; others outline that it is </span></span><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/so-the-online-bookies-won-dont-bet-on-it-20100617-yjv4.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">not the victory for racing</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> that it immediately appears; and others still, pointing to the Sportsbet victory the same day, show how the combined judgments will </span></span><a href="http://www.backpagelead.com.au/horse-racing/1600-racing-in-nsw-now-in-dire-straits"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">impact the future governance of racing</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Others close to racing, though, are hailing it as a</span></span><a href="http://www.racenet.com.au/news/Blog.asp?id=60491"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> 'great opportunity' for the sport</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">.</span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I find racing's thinking, as exemplified on the final link, incredibly muddled. The dispute shouldn't be over the idea that racing should be able to charge. The question for me is what basis of charge is the best for the industry's future.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">But consider the </span></span><a href="http://www.racenet.com.au/news/Blog.asp?id=60491"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Racenet article</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> referenced immediately above. In one line it says, "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Racing in effect is now free to claim a percentage of every dollar wagered on its sport, no matter where in Australia it is wagered – a stunning opportunity to be sure" and a few paragraphs later it accepts that '</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Huge amounts of money can churn around within the system with the same dollar going through a bookie then the tote as it’s laid off. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">A new turnover tax on that amounts to a double dipping."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So, which do you want it to be? A turnover tax is not a tax on punter drop, by definition. It's a tax on turnover, and turnover has nothing do with what the punter spends or what the operator makes. That's not my judgment alone: Justice Perram thought </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">that turnover had no utility as a measure of the number of times race field information is used, and felt that as a proxy for numerical use, the fee was “hopeless”.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Aside from legal argument, though, the question has to be what is most effective in taking racing into the future, in a world with multiple product. In other words, what charge maximises take across the global marketplace, taking into account consumer behaviour, and a desire not to create something that then alters consumer behaviour in order to facilitate avoidance.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">There is only one sort of tax which doesn't incentivise the person paying the tax to change their behaviour in order to reduce exposure to whatever it is that is being taxed, and that is a tax on profit. Taxing anything that has a variable need just encourages people to reduce the need for it (look at the old window tax), but reducing your profit to pay less tax is clearly cutting off your nose to spite your face. A tax on turnover clearly incentivises you to reduce your turnover, particularly given that you can do so without reducing your profitability. You just raise your margin. a 2% margin on turnover of £1000 clearly generates the identical profit to a 4% margin on £500.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So, a turnover tax, by definition, incentivises the operator to keep prices high, in order to keep turnover low. Keeping prices high means being less competitive; being less competitive means reducing innovation; reducing innovation means opening a gap between what punters want in their regulated market and what they are being offered; and opening up a gap creates demand for a black market.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The thing is, even people who argue what a 'great opportunity' this is, seem to recognise that. Take that Racenet article again. it says: "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Turnover needs to be maximised, markets need to be competitive."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So, how do you maximise turnover by taxing it? And if you want racing to be competitive, why tax it in a way which encourages higher prices?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div></div>MDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864741972109196698noreply@blogger.com0