Gross betting revenue was $32.6m, 4.8% below the budget of $34.2m. This meant that the gross betting margin – the percentage of the total handle that was returned in revenue – was 16%, 0.2% above budget.
Tab reported a profit of $8.7m for the month, representing a $5.2m budget shortfall. Contributing to this was the higher-than-expected operating expenses, which came in at $11.9m for the month – $1.7m above budget.
This compares to June’s $11m profit, which was $1.7m below budget. Tab recorded $10.8m in profit in May.
For the full year from 1 August 2021 to 31 July 2022 profit was $154.8m, a reduction of $23.5m compared to the previous year, and $8.5m below budget. This compared to full year operating expenses of $119m, which were $5.4m above the previous year, but $1.7m below budget.
Tab stated that the combination of factors that contributed to the lower betting revenues include “softening economic conditions” that have impacted discretionary consumer spending, ongoing mask-mandates in retail sites, race meets being abandoned due to weather, and a decline in the starter numbers in two of the three racing codes.
Operating expenses increased in July due to restructuring costs, as well as customer acquisition and retention investments.