I agree, of course, that Betfair should make a fair contribution to New Zealand racing. But I'm a little surprised that not many people here are excited to have a new way to bet on racing. A few weeks ago I went to make a $100 bet on a race where a horse was paying $20, only to have that horse drop to $1.80. My mate in Australia was supposed to make the bet for me at the track and didn't end up going, but the horse ended up winning. My point is that had I been able to back the horse early in betfair my return would have been far greater than x times $1.80, instead of going through the Aussie TAB.
Further, with Betfair you can back a horse (or sporting match) at one price then if the price goes down you can lay the bet (bet the opposite outcome) and pocket the difference no matter what the outcome (and vice versa). So if you know what way the market is going to move you can guarantee yourself a profit (obviously this doesn't always work out). Seems to me that the tab system is broken and if Betfair can fix it they should be welcomed provided they give their fair share back.
I should note that there could be a scale problem with Betfair in NZ. It rely's on the interaction of a buyer and a seller to be successful, and I'm not sure if the NZ market is big enough for reasonable prices to be offered. Big sporting events are always well bet, and result in fair and accurate prices being offered, but I'm skeptical that they will be able to get much action on small races throughout the country.
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