Struggling to keep up
and the ACCC has also weighed in, raising concerns about the deal.
Mr Moore said in his closing submission that debating any reduction in competition in the online space was “curious” given that market was a closely fought, competitive sector in Australia.
“It’s characterised by the relentless rise of online corporate bookmakers, who have out-competed Tabcorp and Tatts,” he said.
Mr Moore said Tabcorp and Tatts had “lost market share year after year”.
“What we are dealing with here is a fairly bread-and-butter application of online disruption which we have seen in many industries and which we are seeing in this industry,” he said. “A high-cost and capital-intensive bricks-andmortar retailing model is struggling to respond to a rapid decline in its fortunes in the face of aggressive lowcost and online products and business models.”