Phumelela Announces Changes to TAB Bets

Phumelela Gaming and Leisure announced that from this week and going forward, TAB will be able to accommodate 30 runners in all bets. This is an improvement from the past where only 20 runners per race could be accommodated. This is in line with Phumelela’s efforts to make the racing and betting experience more attractive for South Africans said the group in a press release put out. The changes come into effect from August 18th.

According to a note put out by Sporting Post, “the major advantage of this innovation is that TAB will now be able to commingle many more pools with international hosts than before.”

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It was explained that, in the past, TAB had to administer its own pools if more than 20 horses ran. Those horses numbering from 20 and onwards were usually grouped together and were offered in the form of a single bet. However, thanks to the changes introduced by Phumelela, South African bettors are now able to place a separate bet on every individual runner up to 30 per race – a significant enhancement of their betting sessions.

The Executive Director for Sports Betting at Phumelela, Vee Moodley said about the changes introduced by the group: “This is such an exciting opportunity for South Africans. Take a race like the Melbourne Cup, for example. We have had to run our own pools in the past which have been quite small. Now South African punters will be able to bet into an Australian Win pool of around R100 million!”

Moodley said that in the past, South Africans have missed out on comingling around 200 races a year. “By incorporating 30 runners we will lose maybe just five big races a year,” he said. “It will give TAB punters more choices and massive pools to bet into”, he said.

The director of sports betting spoke about the endless opportunities now available to South African bettors through the new changes.

“Can you imagine what a Trifecta will pay out with 30 runners at the Cheltenham week?” he said, referring to the famous annual British race. “Jackpots, Place Accumulators and BiPots with 30 runners will really make for exciting and attractive dividends.”

Phumelela is considered Africa’s biggest horse-racing and tote betting company and has made significant strides in broadening its revenue base through tote betting on sports other than horseracing, international initiatives, fixed odds betting and limited payout machines.