Tabcorp is about to find out whether Australia's fragmented tote market can be stitched into one. Live trials of its One Pool project begin on Thursday, 24 September, the first practical test of a plan to merge three state-based parimutuel systems into a single national pool.
Key takeaways
- Testing starts 24 September at Tamworth (NSW) and Warwick (Queensland)
- One Pool merges NSW TAB, SuperTAB and UniTAB — covering every Australian state and mainland territory
- The technology stack was co-engineered with BetMakers, which Tabcorp is acquiring for AUS$250m (£140m)
- A full day of domestic trials is pencilled in for 28 September, with formal launch targeted for the weekend of 3-4 October
- Tabcorp's tote pools have been shrinking 5-6% a year; their share of group revenue has fallen from 50% in 2021/22 to around a third
Trials Open at Tamworth and Warwick
The first meetings to run through the unified system will be at Tamworth in New South Wales and Warwick in Queensland. Tabcorp has not yet said which individual races will be priced and offered through the combined pool during those trials.
The initiative has been driven from the top by Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan and Chief Wagering Officer Michael Fitzsimons, who handled negotiations with racing authorities across all three tote jurisdictions. Terms were settled in July after nine months of talks involving Tabcorp, its board and stakeholders from the thoroughbred, harness and greyhound codes.
Three Pools, One Country
One Pool brings together three systems that have operated separately for decades:
- NSW TAB — New South Wales
- SuperTAB — Victoria, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory
- UniTAB — Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory
Between them they reach every state and mainland territory in the country. Tabcorp is the only wagering operator with a presence across all three, which is precisely why it is leading the consolidation — no rival has the national footprint or the infrastructure to attempt it.
The work sits inside a broader rebuild of Tabcorp's TAB wagering platform and its Sky Racing media output. When it goes live, broadcast graphics are due to be refreshed to show fixed odds alongside a single national tote dividend.
BetMakers Supplies the Engine
The trials will put a technology stack co-engineered by Tabcorp's wagering unit and BetMakers — the racing data and risk-management supplier — under real conditions. The same system has already handled pricing for Tabcorp's international racing pools.
That partnership is becoming ownership: as part of the platform overhaul, Tabcorp agreed to acquire BetMakers for AUS$250m (£140m), a deal framed as an upgrade of its technology base ahead of exactly this kind of project.
The Road to 3-4 October
After the opening trials, further testing is expected across selected thoroughbred, harness and greyhound meetings. A full day of domestic trials is provisionally set for Monday, 28 September, and if the platform holds up, Tabcorp is aiming to launch One Pool formally over the weekend of 3-4 October.
"Delivering this has been the team's focus for nine months, but they didn't do it alone. The TAB board backed the vision and our racing partners across all three codes negotiated in good faith — all of which came together to turn an ambition into a deal."
— Michael Fitzsimons, Chief Wagering Officer, Tabcorp
"The opportunity for a revitalised tote with deeper pools, big jackpots, new products for customers and stronger returns for racing now sits in front of us. It won't all happen overnight, but getting the platform in place is the critical step."
— Michael Fitzsimons, Chief Wagering Officer, Tabcorp
Reviving a Product in Decline
For Tabcorp, One Pool is not simply an infrastructure refresh. The parimutuel product has been losing ground for years to fixed-odds betting and online corporate bookmakers: the group's tote pools have been contracting by roughly 5-6% annually, and their contribution to group revenue has slid from 50% in 2021/22 to about one-third today.
McLachlan's argument is that merging the pools attacks the root of the problem. Deeper liquidity means fewer sharp swings in dividends, which in turn makes the tote a steadier proposition for punters. Beyond that, Tabcorp sees room for tote-exclusive products, bigger jackpots and wider international co-mingling.
"A merged pool will increase liquidity for punters and create greater price stability."
— Gillon McLachlan, CEO, Tabcorp
The next fortnight will show whether the engineering matches the ambition — and whether Australia's oldest form of racing betting can be made competitive again by putting all of it in one place.
