Do you
use any of these betting agencies and their products – Unitab, Supertab, NSW TAB, Betchoice, Centrebet, IASbetor Sportingbet? With the TABs and online bookies introducing an ever growing
array of products to tempt punters we thought it was time to assess the main
products on the market. If you want to know which of them will give you the
best returns - read on!
We carried out our study on the TABs and major on line bookmakers to find out
which of their Win Betting products gave the best returns. We found the returns from the
various products on the market varied enormously. The overriding aim of our
study was to identify the best performing betting products – those that put the most
dollars in your pocket.
Our research methodology was straight forward enough. Over the study period,
we recorded every win dividend paid by each of the betting products (on the
Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan races). We then added up all the win
dividends for each product to allow us to compare the total returns for each.
Unitab So
which betting product will give you the best collects? You certainly won’t
find it at Unitab. Trailing the field ingloriously in last place was the
Unitab (Qld & S.A.) win dividend returns. Unitab takes out 16% of their
turnover overall leaving just 84% to pay back to their customers in
dividends. There is no specific percentage take out for win betting, but the combined
take out from all of Unitab’s bet types must not exceed 16% of total
turnover. As Unitab’s win betting product came in last, we can use it as a
benchmark for the other betting products in the market place.
Supertab The
next worst returns came from Supertab (Victorian TAB). Overall, the total returns
from Supertab’s win dividends were just 1% better than the returns from
Unitab. The Victorian TAB take out from their win pool is 14.5% so they
return 85.5% to their customers in dividends.
NSW TAB
The returns from the NSW TAB’s win dividends over the survey period were 6%
better than those of Unitab. The variance from the Supertab (both owned
by TABCORP Holdings Ltd.) return was due to the fact that a couple of longer
priced winners during the survey period paid especially good dividends. This
was probably an anomaly and over a longer survey period the returns from the
NSW TAB’s win dividends could be expected to be on par with the returns from
Supertab.
Betchoice – Tote Plus 5% and Top Fluctuation Betchoice is an on line bookmaker that was
formed by a partnership between Sydney
bookmakers Colin Tidy and Mark Morrissey in 2001. Their Tote Plus 5% product pays the official Supertab TAB
dividend plus 5%. Over the survey period returns from the TotePlus 5%
product were 6% better than the returns from Unitab.
Betchoice also offer a Top Fluctuation product.
This is the best price bet by the on course bookmakers at the meeting you are
betting on. The price is determined by the APN (Australian Price Network). Our
analysis of the Top Fluctuation product over
the survey period showed that it returned 6% more than the Unitab win dividends - exactly the same level as the Tote + 5% product. The Top Fluctuation product
performed well for shorter priced winners but was sometimes found
wanting for horses at longer odds. For example, one winner during our
survey period had a Top Fluctuation payout of $26.00 but returned a dividend of $44.40 on one of the TABs.
Centrebet
– Super Odds and Best of the Best Centrebet Pty. Ltd. is a listed company
licensed in the Northern Territory.
Their SuperOdds betting
product is guaranteed to pay a dividend equal to or exceeding the best
dividend declared by the three major TABs. Just how Centrebet
calculate the Super Odds payout they don’t
let on. Over our survey period the returns from the Super
Odds product were 9% higher than the Unitab win bet returns.
Centrebet have another product called Best Of The
Best (which guarantees the greater dividend of best official
fluctuation and the three major TABs) and which gives better returns than Super Odds. However, it is not directly comparable to
that product because it has a number of major limitations. Best Of The Best bets must be placed at least 45
minutes prior to start time so the punter is left exposed to the possibility
of significant deductions through late scratchings. Also, as the bet has to
be placed so early, a punter cannot take into account possible changes in
track conditions and marked betting drifts or plunges on other runners that
can change the whole complexion of a race. Research shows that it usually
best to bet as late as possible when you have all the available information at
hand. The Best Of The Best product is also
limited from the viewpoint that it is offered on just Sydney
and Melbourne
races and is restricted to only Saturdays and other selected major race days.
IASbet
– City Super Price IASbet was
established by the racing innovator Mark Read but has since been bought out
by Sportsbet
and Read is apparently no longer involved in the business. Sportsbet has operated in
Australia since 1993, is
licensed in the Northern Territory
and is headed by Matthew Tripp. In 2009 Paddy Power, Ireland's biggest
bookmaker bought a large slice of the company. IASbet’s and Sportsbet’s head offices
are housed in the same building in the Melbourne CBD. IASbet offer their City Super Price product which is guaranteed to pay a dividend
better than the best of the three major TABs. On examining the City Super Price dividends they do pay
a dividend better than the best TAB dividend - but it is usually only a few
cents better.
Notice the slight difference compared to Centrebet’s Super Odds product which pays equal
to or better than the best of the three major TABs versus IASbet’s City SuperOdds which pays better
than the best of the three TABs. IASbet’s City Super Price obviously offers a
slightly better proposition so its no surprise that the returns from the
product are slightly better also. Over the survey period returns from the IASbet City Super Price product were 10% better
than the returns from Unitab (versus Centrebet’sSuper Odds product with a 9% better return).
Sportingbet
– MaxiDiv. According to their web site Sportingbet is Australia’s
biggest bookmaker. The company’s chief executive is Michael Sullivan. Sportingbet’sMaxiDiv
product pays the best of SP and the highest dividend declared by the three
major TABs. Over our survey period the returns from the SportingbetMaxiDiv
product were 14% higher than the returns from the Unitab win dividends.
Betting
Fixed Odds Whilst Australian punters continue to be
attracted to fixed odds betting for the reason that they know exactly what
they’ll be getting back, the facts show that this can be a poor investment road
to take. During our survey period the worst returns were by obtained by
betting at SP – in fact they were slightly poorer than the returns from
Unitab’s win bet dividends.
Even gaining the best odds with Betchoice’sTop Fluctuation product
gave returns only 6% higher than the Unitab win dividends - much less than
the three best performing products, Centrebet’sSuper Odds (9%), IASbet’sCitySuper Price (10%) and Sportingbet’s
MaxiDiv (14%). It literally pays not to bet
fixed odds but to use one of these better performing products instead.
There are occasions when fixed odds are worth investing on, especially when the available fixed odds obviously represent a lot of value
(e.g. a horse rated at odds of $5.00 where the available fixed odds are
at least double the amount at $10.00 or higher). Also value fixed odds
can be worth locking into if there is a real expectation that a horse is
likely to be heavily backed and the big value odds on offer early are
likely to disappear like gossamer.
And
the Winner Is…. Sportingbet’s MaxiDiv will give you the best returns of all of the betting
products that we surveyed. Like the other better performing betting products
in the market place, MaxiDiv is based on the best of SP or the highest dividend declared
by the three major TABs.
Whilst the difference in returns between Sportingbet’s
Maxidiv and the next best ranked product IASbet’s City Super Price
may seem small, it certainly isn’t, as the MaxiDiv return of 14% represents a 40% better return than that
of the IASbet City Super Price product of 10%.
In a previous study carried out by Aussieraces.comwe found that bettors using Sportingbet’s Maxidiv product
obtained the best available market odds 67% of the time. Punters betting at fixed prices before the race
chasing the bookies best odds only succeeded in obtaining best available odds
33% of the time.
By using Sportingbet’sMaxidivproduct you are making a sound investment
decision as you will obtain the best available
market odds on two out of every three occasions.
Check out the Sportingbetweb site and their latest offers on the link below
and consider joining and using their Maxidiv product
as it will do just what the name suggests – maximize your returns from horse
racing.
