Brisbane Racing Club wagering turnover hits $1.6bn

From the dark days and doldrums of the Eagle Farm track closure, betting confidence in metropolitan racing in Brisbane has boomed.

The Brisbane Racing Club, which holds races at Eagle Farm and Doomben, has reported $1.68bn in wagering turnover on its meetings in the 2022/23 financial year.

That represents a 6.65 per cent increase in wagering turnover on the previous financial year.

Back in 2015 during the strife of the Eagle Farm track closure, BRC turnover was $692m from 48 meetings.

That grew to $921m in 2016 with 68 meetings.

With the latest figures now in, wagering growth on BRC meetings has been 45 per cent since 2016.

Think About It scores victory in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap. Picture: Grant Peters-Trackside Photography

TAB turnover is about 32 per cent of BRC turnover while other wagering service providers, the likes of Sportsbet, Entain and Bet365, contribute around 68 per cent.

The wagering figures on city tracks in Queensland are strong, but officials realise there could still be some troubled times ahead with the wagering sugar hit from the Covid period likely to soften.

The potential of looming changes – with the likelihood that the Federal Government will restrict advertising and inducements by betting companies – are likely to be another flash point for wagering turnover.

But the Queensland metropolitan racing product, so often in the wars when Eagle Farm track was a debacle for an extended period, is currently holding up well.

Racing Queensland boss Jason Scott – a former CEO of Ladbrokes Australia – is watching betting turnover closely.

"While the wagering figures throughout the Queensland carnival have stood up, the broader wagering market appears to be flattening, so we will closely monitor the week-to-week impacts on turnover and revenue," Scott told Racenet recently.