Wagering boom times continue amid record $5.2b turnover

Wagering on Victorian racing surged again in the first half of the financial year. Australian punters bet a record $5.23 billion on the sport in that period. Racing Victoria's revenue was down 2-3%.

Bookmaker margins fell from 13.4% to 11.8% last year. Favourites won 37.3% of races for the first six months of the financial year, up from 31.9% from the corresponding period last years.

Melbourne Cup attracted a record $223.8m in betting turnover last November. The turnover on the four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival was a new record of $724.1m. Prizemoney in Victoria will be $286.5m for the 2021/22 financial year. The industry is in good health despite the COVID pandemic. Digital betting is driving the growth of betting numbers.