After senior level Government intervention in the talks between Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) and licensed bookmakers, the proposed tote monopoly by CTL has been delayed for at least three months.

“We have continued with our contract from last year until a further 90 days until its finally resolved between ourselves and CTL,” revealed president of the United Bookmakers Association (UBA) Xavier Chin, who said state minister in the Ministry of Finance Arthur Williams was influential in the temporary resolution.

The Business Observer contacted Williams to confirm, but he referred the newspaper back to Chin or CTL acting CEO Christopher Armond.

Bookmakers currently sell bets independent of CTL, to which they pay rights fees of 3.5 per cent of sales. They also pay 16.5 per cent tax on gross income to the Government.

CTL, a government-owned limited liability company which promotes horse-racing in the island, had proposed that wagers made at betting shops operated by bookmakers to, effective January 1, be electronically transmitted to the tote prior to the running of horse races and proposed that it will pay the bookmakers a commission of 5.5 per cent on the sales. Additionally, it was requested that bookmakers pay a five per cent rights fee on bets not offered by CTL.

The proposal peeved bookmakers, who accused CTL of trying to wipe them out of the business.

The Business Observer calculated that CTL would effectively take away 60 per cent of bookmakers revenue, which they make from bets made on local racing at their shops, and pay them a fixed commission if the proposed tote monopoly is successful.

What’s more is that if CTL is indeed successful with the proposal, it would allow a lucrative black market for bookmaking to develop and the Government would lose revenues, said Chin.

“What CTL is looking to do is create a monopoly, which cannot work because if you take the bookmakers out of business it’ll go underground,” said Chin, adding “I think the minister understands that and has asked them to continue for the next three months until we work something out.

“The culture of the society here is that a bookmaker exists …So once you have a culture of bookmaking, you can’t change it overnight, you have to learn to work together,” Chin continued.

When the Business Observer spoke with CTL acting CEO and director of marketing Christopher Armond last week about the proposal, he dismissed suggestions that it was unfair to bookmakers.

“CTL is running a business and has to find a way to make additional money on its product… just like if you’re running the (newspaper) business and you increase your advertising rates,” said Armond, adding “It’s strictly business, it’s our product.”

But the UBA’s Chin hit back at Armond when this newspaper contacted him on Monday. Chin accused CTL of using bookmakers as a scapegoat for its financial woes.

“Chris Armond is looking to blame the bookmakers for their sales but he shouldn’t blame the bookmakers because (the reason) why they’re not getting more sales at Caymanas is because they have less meets every year, they don’t treat the customers well because they’re taking out too much out of the pool to run the place et al… You want me to to go on?” argued Chin, who is the principal of the Track Price Plus chain of betting shops.

CTL operates 60-plus Off Track Betting Parlours (OTBs) compared to over 300 betting shops run by licensed bookmakers. Up to the end of September, bookmakers had sales totalling $1.3 billion while CTL OTBs collected $1.2 billion from local horse racing in 2010.