THERE are fears that a new deal being forced upon hotelliers by the TAB could open the door for corporate bookmakers to move in if they shut their current betting facilities down.
The situation is well explained by NICK CROCKFORD who reports for the MORETON DAILY that a 20-year partnership between the Queensland-based Comiskey Hotel Group and the TAB has come to an end.
Tabcorp is withdrawing its betting facilities from all Comiskey Hotels after the Group declined to sign the company’s new five-year venue agreement.
The closure affects TAB facilities at the Eatons Hill Hotel, Sandstone Point Hotel, Samford Hotel, The Imperial Hotel Eumundi and Dakabin Hotel.
Comiskey Group’s new venues – the Country Club Hotel in Strathpine and Aura Hotel on the Sunshine Coast – will be redesigned without a TAB.
The previous TAB agreement expired on June 30, 2026, with Tabcorp ceasing services across Comiskey Group venues from July 1.
Comiskey Group says Tabcorp’s new agreement included substantially higher weekly venue fees and significantly reduced commissions.
Also, mandatory upfront investment of between $15,000 and $21,000 per venue for TAB equipment that remains owned by Tabcorp and provisions transferring certain regulatory liabilities onto venue operators.
“The new contract would have cost our business hundreds of thousands of dollars each year through higher fees, lower commissions and additional costs,” Comiskey Group Director Rob Comiskey.
“We couldn’t justify signing it because it is both unfair and not commercially sustainable.
“These venues carry the staffing, infrastructure, security, utilities and day-to-day operations that make retail wagering possible.
“Yet they’re being asked to pay more while taking on more risk. At some point, that stops being a partnership. The partnership is well and truly over.”
Mr Comiskey said the implications went beyond individual venues and raised concerns for the wider racing industry.
‘If you strip viability from the venues that drive turnover and engagement, you inevitably weaken the ecosystem that depends on them,” he said.
“Across the industry, operators are being asked to absorb higher costs, lower returns and greater risk, despite already carrying the operational load of retail wagering.”
He said hotels already bore the majority of operating costs with pubs providing the premises, staff, security, utilities, cash handling and day-to-day operations.
“Now they’re being asked to fund equipment that remains owned by Tabcorp, while earning less in return. The economics just don’t stack up,” Mr Comiskey said.
TAB CONFIDENT CUSTOMERS WILL CONTINUE TO FIND A VENUE NEAR THEM
WHILE the Comiskey Group has made the decision to end their partnership with the national wagering giant, Tabcorp told Australian Hotelier that as of July 1, it was partnered with 3300 venues, equating to 96 per cent of total turnover from the existing network.
“With a TAB venue continuing to be around every corner, we are confident that all customers will continue to find a TAB experience near them,” stated Tabcorp Chief Commerical and Media Officer Jarrod Villani.
“The new offering is working. To date, we’ve seen double digit, digital in-venue turnover growth across our network as venues and customers engage with the improved offering.
“Our new model is about improving the entertainment and shared experience of having a bet, bringing more people into local pubs and clubs. We are evolving and innovating the customer experience and punters are going to see further step changes over the next year.
“We’re injecting unprecedented levels of promotions and new initiatives into the network, including TAB Live – our in play betting product – and rolling out new Next Gen Terminals to complement the uplifted look and feel of venues and existing new products like TAB Time and TAB’s Shout.”
Comiskey remains unmoved.
“Frankly, how anyone in the industry can look at this model and think it’s fair or sustainable is beyond me. It feels like a shift away from partnership and towards extraction, and the industry will feel the consequences of that over time.”
“We’re disappointed it has come to this because it will inconvenience some of our loyal customers. But our responsibility is to ensure every part of the venue stacks up commercially and delivers value for guests. Quite frankly, this deal is un-Australian and not something we can support.”
All other venue operations remain unchanged, including food and beverage, gaming machines, Keno and live entertainment.
Comiskey Group will now review alternative entertainment uses for the former TAB spaces across its portfolio.
THE question that should worry the racing industry is will this review involve corporate bookies operating out of these major hotels and any others that might refuse to sign this new TAB agreement.
It’s a major worry as the corporates – many of them regarded as unscrupulous in how they treat punters – continue to infiltrate the racing industry.
The TAB is arguably shooting themselves in the foot and providing an opportunity for the corporates to continue their takeover of the racing industry which has also ready seen them enter into sponsorship agreements with major clubs throughout the country.
