INTERNET OPERATIONS BOOST TABCORP RESULTS

13 July 2007

Record revenues from Aussie gambling group

Internet betting operations are assuming increasing importance in the Australian sportsbetting group Tabcorp, according to financial results released by the company this month.

Revenue from internet sales in racing and sports betting has increased by 24 percent in the last financial year, the report reveals, surpassing the A$1 billion mark for the first time and now accounting for 11 percent of overall turnover, up from 9.5 percent in 2005/06, said Robert Nason, the managing director of the Austrailian gambling group.

A total of $1.012 billion was wagered on racing and sports events through Tabcorp’s online wagering service, delivering 23.5 percent year-on-year growth. Of the more than $1 billion, $827 million was wagered on racing (thoroughbred, harness and greyhound) and $185 million on sports such as NRL, AFL, soccer and tennis.

The remainder of sales are through TAB outlets (via 2700 agencies, pubs and clubs in NSW and Victoria), at NSW and Victorian racetracks through on-course totalisators and through telephone betting.

“Achieving $1 billion in wagering sales through the Internet in 2006/07 demonstrates that consumers continue to embrace the speed and convenience of online betting,” said Nason. “We have driven rapid sales growth through the Internet and it continues to be our fastest growing distribution channel. Internet betting is a key element of our strategy to create a strong wagering platform for growth,” he added.

“We will continue to enhance our online wagering presence so that we continue to give our customers access to all the content they need to place bets and deliver better functionality, speed and quality of information.”

Key features of Internet wagering through www.tab.com.au in 2006/07 include:

* The average time spent by account holders per website visit is 19 minutes.

* There were 810 million page views in 2006/07.

* The biggest day of the year was Melbourne Cup day when more than 550 000 individuals visited the TAB website, viewing 13.7 million pages and spending an average of 25 minutes per visit. At its peak, the website was handling 42 000 concurrent users.

* The top five racing bet types for Internet account holders are Win, Trifecta, Each Way, Quinella and Quaddie.

* The top five sports betting events (excluding racing) were Australian Open Men’s Final, NRL State of Origin 1, NRL State of Origin 2, NRL Grand Final and FA Cup Final.

Tabcorp has 400,000 account customers of which 140,000 have Internet-enabled TAB accounts.

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