Australian Horse Racing Tab / Unitab Merger

Two of the biggest gambling companies in Australia are merging.
TAB runs the New South Wales sports betting and horse and dog racing paramutuels.
I guess Unitab is in Queensland. This is actually a huge deal, every pub in Australia has betting in it.
So, I'd keep it on my radar screeen.
By the way, there is something nice about a coutnry that assumes that as an adult you can make your own informed choices. Gambling is pervasisve, prostitution is legal (or at least quasi-legal, there are brothels everywhere. Why do we assume that our adults need to be coddled and protected from making their own moral jugements? Blame the Puritains I guess. I digress.)
The article continutes at the link below.

WRAP: Australia's Unitab,Tab Bet On A$2.8B Gaming Merger
Thu Oct 16, 5:57 AM ET

By Richard Noonan, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

MELBOURNE (Dow Jones)--Australian gaming companies Unitab Ltd and Tab Ltd. agreed Thursday to a A$2.8 billion merger, continuing the rush toward industry consolidation.

The combined company, to be based in Brisbane and known as Unitab, will own gaming and betting-related businesses across four Australian states and territories.

Tab managing director Warren Wilson, who will head the combined group, said the costs will be cut by at least A$25 million a year with the scrapping of duplication in areas such as head office functions and information technology.

Wilson said revenue and earnings will rise as the merged group entices more punters to 3,000 wagering outlets across New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory by offering bigger betting pools.

Investors welcomed the news and prospects for significant cost savings, sending shares of both stocks up more than 3%.

Shares in Sydney-based Tab rose 11 cents or 3.3% to A$3.27. Unitab shares gained 27 cents or 4% to A$7.02.

"Obviously the market's opinion is that it is positive. There's no doubt there's opportunities for cost benefits and revenue benefits," said Shane Delphine, who helps manage about A$1.7 billion in Australian equities at Invesco.

Delphine said the larger betting pool sizes and expanded range of products will likely attract more punters and boost sales.

The companies have valued the combined group at A$2.8 billion, based on a share price of the merged business of A$7.00. With Tab around twice the size of Unitab, the new company will be around one-quarter owned by existing Unitab shareholders and three-quarters by existing TAB holders.

Unitab's current managing director Dick McIlwain will leave the company when the merger is completed in early 2004, receiving a A$4.4 million early severance payout.

"This is a low risk, safe transaction," McIlwain said of the merger. "We know we can deliver benefits with very little risk to shareholder and customers," he said.

Wilson said the merger will add to earnings per share in the first full year of operation, but didn't elaborate.

Under the agreement, Tab will pay shareholders in the Queensland-based Unitab A$7.00 cash a share for half of their shareholdings. The other half of their shares will remain as shares in the merged entity.

At the same time, TAB shareholders will be offered 48 Unitab shares for every 100 Tab shares they own. Tab intends to borrow around A$460 million to fund the acquisition of Unitab shares.

No Problems Expected From Regulator

Wilson said the company hasn't fully briefed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission about the proposal, but expects the nation's competition regulator to approve the deal.

A spokeswoman for the ACCC declined to comment on whether it may block the proposal, saying the regulator "would have a look at it" when the full details arrive.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie Thursday gave his government's approval to the merger and said state laws will be amended to enable to the combination to proceed.

He also said the government will retain a law that puts a 10% ownership cap on Unitab to prevent hostile takeovers.

Confirmation of the merger comes as Australian gaming and wagering companies move to consolidate and cut costs in an industry that is struggling to expand because of government limits on gaming hours and the number of slot machines.

Analysts are tipping that other gaming and casino companies such as Burswood Ltd. (A.BIR) may also soon change hands, while they don't rule out Melbourne's Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. (A.TAH) moving on Unitab once the merger has been completed.

Tabcorp, Australia's biggest gaming company, reiterated Thursday its main priority at the moment is bedding down its own A$1.1 billion merger with casino group Jupiters Ltd. .

"We'll continue to monitor the Unitab and Tab proposal," said Tabcorp spokesman Rohan Martin, declining to say whether it will oppose the merger or make a bid.

Analysts said Tabcorp, which acquired Sydney's Star City casino in 1999, may eventually seek to buy the Unitab business a few years down the track.

"I expect Tabcorp to emerge as the ultimate owner after a few years," said Derek Francis, an analyst at Commsec in Sydney. "It's a question of when rather than if."

Unitab, formerly known as TAB Queensland and privatized by the Beattie government in 1999, has taken over the Northern Territory and South Australian betting businesses.

Perth casino operator Burswood is subject to takeover speculation after Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. , which owns Melbourne's Crown casino, bought shares in the company last month.

Tab is being advised by Macquarie Bank Ltd. and ABN Amro, while Unitab is being advised by Investec Wentworth.

-By Richard Noonan, Dow Jones Newswires;

61-3-9614-2662; richard.noonan@dowjones.com

-Edited by Ian Pemberton
posted by Casino 1:12 AM

Monday, November 03, 2003

 
Get Paid to Play Online Poker!
This was just emailed to me today, and I am going to try it. Intercasino has a fledgling online poker room and they are paying people, up to $30 per hour, to play poker!
It sounds good, and I see their angle (getting player to build critical mass), but I am going to give it a shot and report back.
If you try it, tell me what you think.
This is a very reputable company, I have had no trouble getting paid, so it should be no problem.
Here is the link, check it out!
Get Paid to Play Poker at InterCasinoPoker!
posted by Casino 7:15 PM

Sunday, November 02, 2003

 
The Stock Market Is Online Gambling

I may be going out on a limb here, but I was just thinking. Isn't the stock market basically gambling? And if that is the case, then aren't E*Trade, Ameritrade, Scottrade, ConTrade and their ilk, just the same as Intercasino. I mean, both companies enable you to play with your money, viz. throw it away or strike it rich.

The question boils down to value, I guess. Paper entitling you to partial ownership of a legal entity is traded "on the floor" and the increase or decrease in demand causes the prices to rise or fall. Hmm. That sounds rather dubious. And so, I would like open the floor, the moral consequenses of online stock trading versus online casino gambling.

posted by Casino 1:10 PM