Entain Approved To Acquire TAB's Betting

TAB New Zealand

In March, some experts said Entain would get the TAB agreement.

Kieran McAnulty gave permission for TAB to work with Entain. This is a company from Britain. The Problem Gambling Foundation had worries.

Entain, which owns Ladbrokes, will take control of TAB's betting and broadcast activities for the next 25 years. The racing sector will get $900 million in pay-outs for five years with this deal.

McAnulty said the Cabinet agreed to extend TAB NZ's betting monopoly online using geoblocking.

Entain wanted a monopoly in New Zealand. They proposed an extra payment if offshore betting was banned.

The Problem Gambling Foundation has expressed concern about the TAB deal, following a report from the UK. People are also worried about the proposed outsourcing deal with the TAB. The TAB says that jobs will be safe for two years with the new arrangement.

Entain said they will secure the employment of TAB’s 450 workers for two years, but not the executives. This agreement helped with finalizing the deal.

McAnulty said he thinks the agreement can secure a good future for racing and sports in New Zealand. This will happen by giving more money to national sports groups.

Jan Tinetti, the Internal Affairs Minister announces new gambling rules, but the industry thinks they aren't sufficient. A video published in November 2022 shows this.

He said TAB NZ has been having money problems for some time now. Because of competition from gambling websites outside the country, its future was uncertain.

The deal gives $150m right away after the approval. Also, there is a 50% cut from the revenue starting from day one. They have made sure to give a minimum of $150m yearly for five years.

Problem Gambling Foundation says Entain broke regulations abroad. They wanted to talk to McAnulty about it next Thursday. They have a lot of worries about the agreement.

Last year, UK Gambling Commission fined Entain £17 million for "not being good" at preventing money laundering and promoting safe gambling.

In Australia, Entain broke two rules. One of the breaches involved encouraging heavy gamblers to begin betting through Ladbrokes. They used incentives to entice them to open accounts. In one instance, Entain set up an account for a gambler without their consent. Because of these actions, they were fined.

Entain has been accused of benefiting from blog posts previously paid for by another betting business. The blog posts allegedly encouraged young mothers to gamble to take a break from childcare. The allegations were reported by Britain's Guardian newspaper. The Problem Gambling Foundation has also voiced concern about these allegations.

McAnulty thinks the outsourcing agreement will help lessen problem gambling. Entain has facial recognition tools to use in TAB venues. These tools will assist with minimising harm.

Kieran McAnulty, the Racing Minister, didn't wait for a meeting with the Problem Gambling Foundation before approving the deal. The foundation raised concerns about it.

He said that TAB NZ gave him confirmation of $5 million for harm minimisation measures. The confirmation came after the agreement was approved.

We hope to see more money for harm reduction, fairness for New Zealanders who bet and for the sports codes, and more attention to animal welfare.

Ladbrokes started in 1886. Entain now has a better approach than before, according to McAnulty. The Problem Gambling Foundation mentioned previous incidents.

"I am worried about what they are doing right now."

TAB NZ and Entain's partnership could not stop the Government from adding more safety measures for gambling. The Government plans to implement these measures, and they have informed TAB NZ about it.

Mark Stewart, who is the chairperson of TAB, said that Entain is a trustworthy company.

They had some problems, but they made promises to us and I'm not worried.

Entain respects groups like the Problem Gambling Foundation.

If the outsourcing deal is approved, we will build a good relationship with TAB NZ. This is what we said recently.

We're happy about our record and commitment to looking after players and safer gambling. This will also be important for our approach in New Zealand.

Andree Froude, from the Problem Gambling Foundation, wanted to talk to McAnulty before approving the deal.

She said we should focus on the future and try to participate in discussions about harm reduction.

We're worried about Entain's regulatory issues. Their past performance isn't good, which makes us unsure about their future.

Entain will provide most of the TAB NZ's functions. This will happen through a newly established subsidiary in New Zealand. McAnulty announced the arrangement.

TAB NZ will still be in charge of all legal tasks and handling the agreement with the operator.

The Overseas Investment Office has not received any application from Entain or TAB for their partnership agreement, as per their statement.

Last week, there was not enough information to know if approval was needed for the transaction. It was unclear if consent was necessary.

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