Inside Asian Gaming

IAG NOV 2021年11月 亞博匯 83 11-25 MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CEO Tabcorp 執行董事兼行政總裁 CLAIMS TO FAME 名成事跡 POWER SCORE 權能指數: 1,004 POSITION LAST YEAR 去年排名: 20 Almost 30 years of industry experience in England, South Africa and Australia Heads Australia’s biggest racing and wagering company • • • • 在英格蘭、南非及澳洲擁有近30年的行業經驗 領導著澳洲最大的賽馬及投注公司 DAVID ATTENBOROUGH 18 TABCORP HOLDINGS CEO David Attenborough is on his way out, if slowly, having delayed his promised retirement in 2021 until Tabcorp completes a demerger of its lotteries and keno business and its wagering, media and gaming arm. The demerger – possibly followed by divestment of one of the arms – comes amid several takeover offers and follows years of investor unease over under-performance of the wagering and gaming side of the business in a near-saturated field of aggressive, innovative corporate bookmakers. Once the dominant player in Australia’s wagering field, Tabcorp’s sportsbook lost its market share lead this year to Sportsbet with the latter now holding 47% to TAB’s 39%. Notwithstanding a return to profit in financial year 2021, the overall decline of the AU$11.5 billion Australian gaming giant’s wagering competitiveness contrasts markedly with excitement over its merger with lotteries behemoth Tatts Group under Attenborough’s watch only four years ago. Other challenges are also on the way, not least heavier restrictions or a possible ban on credit cards for online gaming, which Tabcorp has broadly supported. Attenborough’s delayed retirement will have seen him in Tabcorp’s top job for at least 12 years, an outstanding contribution to the Australian gambling industry by any measure, following respected contributions to the industry in South Africa and England. Eventually, however, history will show his rise was girded in part by Tabcorp’s monopoly privileges in almost all states and territories, and that bona fide competition prior to and during the pandemic brought the company back down to earth – and split it back into two. TABCORP HOLDINGS 的行政總裁David Attenborough即將逐步離任。 不過他已經推遲了原定於2021年的退休計劃，直至Tabcorp完成其彩票與 Keno業務、博彩、媒體及遊戲部門的拆分。 此次可能伴隨著部門撤銷的拆分，正值數間公司提出收購要約之際。 多年來，在充滿激進、創新、博企幾乎飽和的領域，投資者對於其博彩 業務的表現並不滿意。Tabcorp的體育博彩一度稱霸澳洲市場，但今年卻 輸給了Sportsbet，後者目前擁有47%的市場份額，而且Tabcorp則佔有 39%。 儘管在2021財年實現了盈利，但這家市值114億美元的澳洲博彩巨頭 的博彩競爭力卻在整體下滑，與四年前在Attenborough的領導下與彩票巨 擘Tatts Group合併之時的意氣風發形成鮮明對比。 其他挑戰亦陸續有來，尤其是Tabcorp已經廣泛支持的在網絡遊戲上 使用信用卡面臨著更為嚴格的限制甚至是禁止。 Attenborough的延遲退休將使他在Tabcorp最高職位上就任至少12 年，對澳洲博彩業作出了傑出的貢獻，一如他先前在南非及英國對博彩業 的貢獻那般。 然而最終，歷史將證明，他的崛起在一定程度上得益於Tabcorp在幾 乎所有州和地區的壟斷特權，而疫情前和疫情期間的真正競爭使該公司重 回現實——並將其一分為二。