The Influence of Global Horse Racing Events on New Zealand’s Betting Industry
Sports betting is as old as the sports themselves with the same being true for betting on horse racing events. Although the origin of the first horse racing bet is difficult to confirm scientifically, the first stories about horse betting go back to ancient Egypt.
The importance of the industry behind horse racing betting is confirmed by the fact that horses are bred for horse racing. Throughout the breeding process, horses are trained for both speed and overall endurance whilst their human riders use all sorts of strategies to get the most out of each metre.
Thanks to the popularity of modern sports betting, horse racing betting has become what it is today: a billion dollar industry that is booming in all corners of the globe.
Horse races and betting activities have been closely related since the first days it was labelled as a sport, first off the record, later in official settings. Spectators would go to horse races for its entertainment, but also for placing non-regulated, informal bets.
Bets were typically placed on the winner of the event not knowing at the time that it would become a global activity. New Zealand is one of the countries that has legalised betting on horse racing, although other online betting activities are not necessarily standardised.
The growing popularity of horse racing laid the foundation for the modern betting industry as we know it today which brings us to this guide about the influence of horse racing events on New Zealand’s betting industry. The input for this article has found its inspiration in one of the many guides at Kiwigambler.
Horsepower For Today’s Betting Industry
Although popular in ancient times, the activity of horse racing became more standardised in the seventeenth century when the English King James I established the first official horse track in his home country. From England, horse racing managed to rapidly spread across the borders to other countries, becoming popular amongst both jockeys and spectators.
Whilst the sport of horse racing gained popularity, the same happened for horse betting. Betting systems became standardised, intermediaries found their way into the business and players were able to wager larger amounts of money in relatively safer settings.
As other modern sports as we know them today didn’t exist at the time, betting on horse racing was one of the very first sports related betting activities. As such, it played a major role in the development and growth of modern betting activities.
A few centuries later, in the 19th century, betting on horse racing made it to the other side of the ocean, to the United States.
The growing popularity of betting on horse races led to the adoption of innovative technologies like the Totalisator system. This system made it possible to make more efficient and accurate predictions. To illustrate our point here, this betting system is still used.
It won’t come as a surprise that horse racing was also one of the first sports that made a contribution to the introduction of new laws, licences and regulations. The first laws for betting on horse racing were adopted in the 18th century and have served as a source of inspiration for every new law that has been introduced ever since.
It has also left a lasting impact on social activities and cultural facets. This is true for the sport itself, but also the betting activities. These have become synonymous with thrills, excitement and even glitter and glamour. Betting on horse races was once only accessible to the rich and the famous, giving it the same status as other casino games like Roulette or Baccarat.
Positive Effect Of Horse Racing Events on New Zealand’s Betting Industry
Today, betting on horse racing is accessible to everyone in New Zealand, provided that they are over age. In New Zealand, horse racing continues to attract the crowds and this is also caused by the legalisation of betting on horse racing.
Tab NZ, the country’s only legal platform for horse racing betting enjoys a monopoly, giving the organisation a chance to boost the country’s economy whilst it creates job opportunities and adds its share to the treasury department.
Betting on horse racing, whether done at a land based venue or online, generates revenue through taxes. These can be used to fund the country’s public services and infrastructure. The same is true for developing the horse racing industry which explains why New Zealand enjoys outstanding race tracks and professional horse breeders.
This has clearly helped to make horse racing more competitive and thus more thrilling which serves as a snowball effect, boosting the interest of New Zealanders in the sport. Still, like everywhere, the country’s betting industry was shaken up during the corona lockdowns and the subsequent higher costs of living.
Before the corona pandemic hit the world and led to a complete lockdown, New Zealand’s racing industry is set to benefit from a 20% rise in contributions from TAB NZ. The betting operator stated at the time that this was “thanks to a surge in online betting in its previous financial year.”
The country’s three most important racing codes – NZTR, HRNZ, and GRNZ – received more than $23 million in fixed distributions compared to that budgeted the previous year. Although the betting industry has faced several difficulties, the above figures serve as a source of inspiration for future projections in the same way horse racing inspired spectators to bet money on this sport.
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