Australian gambling corporations Tattersalls and Tabcorp have lost their duopoly control of slots machines in the state of Victoria.
In 1994, when the Victorian government decided to introduce poker machines in venues throughout the state they issued operating licenses to only 2 operators...TabCorp Holdings Limited and Tatts Group Limited (then the Tattersalls Trust). In the last 15 years these two companies have been the riding the lucrative wave of Victorians love affair with slots/poker machines.
Around $2.5 billion is lost annually by Victorian slots players, and Tatts and Tabcorp have been happily taking a half share of that.
The current licenses expire 2012, and the government confirmed yesterday that it will be restructuring the licensing regime from then to allow individual venues to apply for licenses. Tattersalls and Tabcorp will lose their long held duopoly on gaming machines and this will cost them considerably.
Slots account for over 40% of Tattersall's and 20% of Tabcorps profits, and it is all going to disappear in a little over a year. It's no wonder Tabcorp's Chairman John Story has said that he is 'surprised and deeply disappointed' at the decision to re-allocate licenses.
Under the new license arrangement, no one operator will be able to control more than 35% of the states 27,500 machines.
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