Australian betting operator Tabcorp Holdings has launched a new marketing campaign aimed at stirring punters’ patriotism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tabcorp’s TAB betting brand recently unveiled a new marketing pitch urging local bettors to ‘Back the Industry and Bet with TAB.’ The video spots (a sample of which can be viewed at the bottom of this article) urge bettors to shun rival Aussie-licensed corporate bookmakers in favor of the TAB’s offering in order to support the local racing industry.
The spots claim that TAB returns more than four times the sums to the racing industry than its online betting rivals – most of which are local offshoots of UK- and European-based companies – thereby supporting “the hundreds of thousands of local faces that keep racing going.”
That Tabcorp-flattering math, based on a ratio of industry returns to turnover from the 2019 financial year, was undeniably helped by the TAB’s near-monopolistic control of retail betting and tote wagers, courtesy of its recent absorption of rival Tatts Group. TAB also controls racing broadcasts, including livestreamed video, through its Sky Racing subsidiary.
Adam Rytenskild, managing director of Tabcorp’s Wagering & Media division, said the new campaign was about “celebrating and backing those who are integral to our racing industry … keeping racing going, especially during these times of uncertainty.”
Tabcorp’s homage to the working man (and woman) might carry more weight had the company not just announced it was laying off 700 staff in parts of its business “where there is no work as a result of COVID-19 shutdowns.” Last month, Australia’s government ordered the closure of non-essential businesses, which shut the pubs and clubs in which many TAB betting windows were based.
TABCORP BEGS LANDLORDS TO CUT IT SOME SLACK
Tabcorp is also asking its landlords to help keep the company going by cutting it some slack on rent payments on its retail betting outlets. The Saturday Paper obtained a letter Tabcorp sent to its 374 commercial landlords “respectfully” asking for a six-month suspension of payments due to “unforeseen and extenuating circumstances that have arisen in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The proposed rental pause, which would run from April 1 to September 30, would save Tabcorp around AU$20m (US$12.8m). The company claims this wiggle room would provide “much needed relief and capital to enable the business … to be relaunched once consumer confidence has been restored.”
TABCORP GENEROUS WITH PLAYERS’ MONEY
Earlier this month, Tabcorp made a AU$1m donation to The University of Queensland’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, which is working on developing a COVID-19 vaccine. Project director Dr. Trent Munro said his group was “incredibly grateful for the support” from Tabcorp.
Except it wasn’t really Tabcorp’s money. The cash came from unclaimed prize money from Tabcorp’s Queensland lottery business, which under normal circumstances would be returned to players through bonus draws and promotions. And while the fine print of Tabcorp’s press material included a shout-out to its lottery players for their unwitting (and possibly unwilling) generosity, it was Tabcorp’s name in the headline.
