New Zealanders are spending an estimated $286 million a year with offshore bookmakers on racing and sports events, and that is part of more than $2 billion spent on offshore gambling annually.
Research commissioned by the New Zealand Racing Board shows there is a "substantial amount that is disappearing offshore" and costing the country thousands of jobs, the board's racing and wagering general manager Bill Colgan said.
"This money could be used to create and maintain up to a further 3600 full-time equivalent jobs in the New Zealand racing industry."
Offshore bookmakers, unlike the New Zealand Racing Board which runs the TAB, were not required to pay tax, levies to the various sporting codes, or costs associated with race meetings or sports events.
As a result, offshore bookmakers were "sometimes able to offer lower pricing and thus more attractive odds for punters", and the amount spent with offshore bookmakers was growing each year, he said.
Australia was the main offshore bookmaker market for New Zealanders but an "increasing amount of money" was going to Europe and the Caribbean, he said.
According to the research, an estimated 177,000, or 5.6% of New Zealanders were using offshore gambling websites.
Additional to the spending on sports and racing bets, $1.77 billion annually was spent offshore on other forms of gambling.
While it was illegal under the Gambling Act 2003 for offshore bookmaking operators to advertise in New Zealand, it did not stop them from advertising on overseas-based websites or target people via email.
Mr Colgan said overseas sites were not required to monitor problem gamblers and it was a "serious issue".
"They can and do accept credit betting, sometimes have no maximum bet limit, and unlike the New Zealand Racing Board, they do no track and identify customers who are showing signs of potential problems," Mr Colgan said.
Problem Gambling Foundation spokesman David Coom said the popularity of overseas online gambling sites, which number more than 2000, was "concerning".
In addition to sports and racing sites, online casinos and poker sites were gaining in popularity, particularly with young men, he said.
"There is no host responsibility. Problem gamblers can gamble from the privacy of their own home."
The Otago Daily Times understands the New Zealand Racing Board is planning to approach the Government about addressing some of the issues raised by the report.
Questions to Minister of Racing John Carter were referred to the New Zealand Racing Board.
Sport betting
> Introduced in 1996 with the first bet made by Colin Meads.
> The NZ Racing Board has agreements in place with 29 different sporting organisations.
> The board can conduct sports betting on sporting events where it has a written agreement with the national sporting organisation.
> Since 1996, almost $20 million has been distributed to New Zealand national sporting organisations.
> Sports betting accounts for almost 10% of the NZ Racing Board turnover of $1.5 billion.
> In the year ended July 31, 2008, total sports betting turnover was $137.9 million. More than 8.6 million sports bets were placed across 35,000 options. During this period, $2.28 million was distributed to national sporting agencies.
> The biggest sporting bet was $170,000 on the All Blacks to beat the Wallabies at Eden Park last year. The punter received $252,000.
> One punter bet $450 on France to beat the All Blacks by exactly 12 points in the 1999 World Cup, and won $67,500.
> The Hurricanes have always been the most popular Super 14 team on which to bet.
Source: NZ Racing Board
