Will Peters sell the TAB to the Aussies?

Newsroom reports:

Giant Australian gambling companies are poised to take over the TAB’s role in New Zealand if a report into the racing industry is adopted by the Government.

The report, commissioned by Racing Minister Winston Peters, and kept secret from racing industry leaders, is due to be released tonight at a public meeting in Hamilton.

Sources familiar with the contents of the report says it recommends that race betting in New Zealand be outsourced to an Australian company, effectively meaning the end of the TAB.

I’m not a fan of the TAB monopoly. But rather than hand the monopoly over to an Australian company, why not abolish the monopoly?

Allow any registered company to do sports betting, under a common framework where a percentage of takings is paid to the sport in question (except I guess politics :-))

Sources have told Newsroom that the big gambling companies in Australia have proposed giving the industry an up-front cash payment and more money, said to be $100 million over 25 years, if they get the licence to control betting on NZ races. 

Will be interesting if the opponent of all things foreign turns out to support selling the racing monopoly to the Aussies.