Codes face anxious wait on funding

The recommendation of an outsourced betting agency means Tennis New Zealand and other sports face uncertain times, with one-third of tennis’ income sourced from the TAB.

Tennis, basketball, rugby league and football are among the most heavily reliant on TAB commission payments – they get a percentage of the amount wagered on each sport – as a significant proportion of their total income.

In the year ending June 30, 2017, Tennis NZ’S annual report said it received $3.12 million in income with a tick over $1 million of that coming from the TAB.

That increased to $1.2 million in the past year, according to figures provided by the New Zealand Racing Board at the end of its financial year on July 31. A total of $10.1m was dished out to 34 national sporting organisations, with basketball ($2m), rugby ($1.4m) and football ($1.3m) the top three.

Tennis NZ chief executive Julie Paterson said the funding it receives from TAB is vital, but the implications of TAB operations being outsourced is unclear.

‘‘Obviously, if there was a shift in ownership of the TAB that could be of major concern to us, but we really do not understand enough about what may or may not happen next,’’ said Paterson.

The recommendation that betting operations be outsourced offshore comes from an independent review by leading Australian racing figure John Messara.

Messara recommended the NZ Racing Board continue to hold the TAB licence but contract ‘‘all operational activities to a thirdparty wagering and media operator of international scale’’.

The report said the TAB funding model that provides 34 sports with funding should remain the same. However, Messara also recommended that the TAB should be able to to compete freely with overseas operators and offer betting on all overseas sporting events without the need to obtain agreement from NZ sporting organisations as they currently have to.

However, there seems no guarantee how this agreement would fare in negotiations with an offshore operator.

NZ Rugby League chief executive Greg Peters hoped that an outsourced TAB could result in increased funding, but he needed further knowledge around the proposal. The NZRL received $1m in TAB commission payments in the last financial year, according to NZRB figures.

The TAB’S contribution to NZRL made up just over 10 percent of their total income in the year ending March 2017, according to its annual report.

NZ Football made $3,589,000 in the year ended December 2017, of which about one-third came from TAB commission payments. Football received $1.3m in the year ending July 31, with World Cup betting providing a significant boost.

At a glance

Commission payments made by the TAB to national sporting organisations in the last financial year (ending July 31):

❚ Basketball $2m

❚ Rugby $1.4m

❚ Football $1.3m

❚ Tennis $1.2m

❚ League $1m

❚ Cricket $700,000

* Another $2.5m was shared between 28 national sporting organisations a five-time champion at the tournament, part of his men’s-record haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.

So much for that muchanticipated matchup between Federer and 13-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Instead, it’ll be the 55th-ranked Millman, who had never made it past the third round at a Slam until last week, taking on Djokovic.

Millman was adamant he would not be intimidated by Federer, and perhaps was helped by having spent time practising together a few months ago.

Still, this was a stunner. Not simply because Federer lost but how he lost. Start with this: Federer held two set points while serving for the second at 5-4, 40-15 and did not pull through; he had a set point in the third at 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but again was stymied.

In the fourth set, he went up a break at 4-2, yelling ‘‘Come on!’’ and getting all of those rowdy spectators in their ‘‘RF’’ gear on