BORDER bookie Peter Brown has lashed out at what he says is one set of rules for the high-flyers and another for battlers.
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At Benalla on Saturday the Albury-based bagman took a wager of $300 each way on a $17 chance in the first race.
Racing Victoria’s rules demand he bet to lose a minimum of $1500.
Brown said it was a big bet for Benalla and looked to off-load some of the risk on TAB fixed odds that also operated at the twilight meeting.
When he tried to place $200 each way on the horse the TAB rejected the wager because it would lose too much.
The TAB also rejected a $100 each way bet.
In the end he was allowed a bet of $4 each way.
“It is absolutely ridiculous,” Brown said.
“If you come to me I have to bet to lose at least $1500 and that should be the same amount the TAB, that is also operating on the course, has to be prepared to lose as well.
“I’d lose my licence if I tried what the TAB did to me on Saturday and this plays out with the corporate bookies and their fixed odds as well.
“This amounts to false advertising.
“If they can do what they like, why can’t I?”
Brown said his motivation was not his hip pocket.
In the end the meeting was abandoned before a race had been run.
“So there was no damage but it’s just the principle of the thing,” he said.
TAB’s Adam Hamilton admitted there were no rules demanding it lose a set amount but Saturday’s incident was a “quirk rather than the norm”.
“We have automated limits for each meeting and race,” he said.
“Normally a bet like this would be assessed by our bookmaker monitoring the meeting but if, as happened on Saturday, they are juggling more than one race meeting then they can be overlooked and default to the automated limit.
“In this case there were already several bets that had pushed the loss on this horse towards that limit.
“So the answer is, yes, we have limits, are they $4 each way — absolutely not.
“NSW has introduced minimum losses for corporate bookmakers in recent times and we understand the Victorians are also looking at this.
“But any bookmaker fielding on course knows the limits, know the rules, before they take a bet — he understands the risk when he sets a market.”
The Victorian Bookmakers Association told The Border Mail it would continue to campaign on the issue.
It says Racing Victoria’s rules set a minimum of a $5000 loss on the rails at Melbourne meetings and $1500 elsewhere.
They do not apply to the TAB or Northern Territory-based corporate bookmakers on racing in Victoria.
