Rian du Plessis, Phumelela Group CEO, said: “The partnership that we have with Tabcorp is of strategic importance and we are delighted to have renewed the existing agreements between us. Of particular importance, however, is the addition of reciprocal commingling which should materially increase our respective pool sizes and the attraction of betting into these pools.”
The official signing ceremony took place last Saturday at Greyville at the Vodacom Durban July meeting.
Key beneficiaries from this long-term arrangement will be the South African and Australian racing industries, PGE, Tabcorp and the many punters who currently enjoy racing from both countries.
The agreement will enable PGE to expand its already high-quality and diversified product offering to South African horseracing fans, which currently includes races from the UK daily as well as selected racing from countries like Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Singapore and the USA.
In the next few months and subject to final regulatory approval, TAB clients in South Africa will be able to bet directly into a range of Victorian TAB pools in Australia. Similarly, Tabcorp customers through SuperTAB, will be able to wager directly into South African tote pools.
Commingling between the two countries will enhance the appeal of the applicable tote pools. As is standard practice the rules of the host country will apply to all bets in commingled pools.
About Phumelela Gold Enterprises (PGE):
Phumelela Gold Enterprises (PGE) is a joint venture between South African horseracing and tote betting operators Phumelela and Gold Circle. PGE is managed by JSE-listed Phumelela and owns the domestic and international broadcast and information rights to South African horseracing. PGE also sets fixtures for all South African racecourses and owns and manages Tellytrack, South Africa's domestic horseracing TV channel.
- PGE has acquired the worldwide betting-related broadcast rights to 30 of the UK's 60 racecourses (the Racing UK rights), including 10 of the 12 "Super" tracks from Racing UK (RUK).
- PGE, in partnership with Racing UK and the UK Tote (Totesport), offers a daily racing-betting package to the global market on South African-based TV channel Racing International, which is beamed via satellite across six continents. About Tabcorp:
- Tabcorp is a successful, diversified and responsible organisation, conducting a unique combination of wagering, gaming, hospitality and media activities across Australia.
- Tabcorp manages leading customer brands in Australia, including the Star City and Jupiters casinos, TAB, Tabaret, Keno and TAB Sportsbet, serving millions of customers every day.
- Tabcorp was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in August 1994 to acquire the wagering and gaming businesses of the former Victorian Totalisator Agency Board. Tabcorp acquired the Star City hotel and casino, a major entertainment complex in Sydney, in 1999. In 2003 the company merged with Jupiters, the owner of hotel and casino complexes in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Townsville as well as gaming machine monitoring. In 2004, Tabcorp completed the acquisition of Tab Limited, the New South Wales based wagering, media and gaming company.
- Tabcorp’s three major business units of Casinos, Wagering and Gaming employ about 11,000 people in all States of Australia.