Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

When Sideline Sid had his first bet on a race horse over half-century ago, he would never imagined having a punt on Easter Friday.

Over the years there seems to have been a real change of focus in the racing industry, from attracting patrons to the countries race courses, to driving the TAB turnover courtesy of sports betting and overseas racing.

While TAB turnover funds local racing stakes and facilities, the lure of turnover, saw the New Zealand TAB offering betting on seventeen overseas race meetings on Easter Friday. The betting action kicked off with plethora of American racing at breakfast time, moving to Australian racing from Tasmania and West Australia to take us into the early evening. For those still desperate to have a punt, there was further betting available from Singapore and South Korea.

While the TAB shops were firmly locked on Friday, all it took to have a bet on the holy day, was to have sufficient funds in a TAB on-line account. The New Zealand Racing Board latest annual report, states that there some 230 thousand TAB account holders who use on-line betting.

The introduction of Easter Friday thoroughbred race meetings in Western Australia, three years ago, has been followed by Tasmania this year. It is a sign of the change in attitude, which will probably be repeated in other Australian States and eventually this country.

To the nay-sayers, remember back a half century to when there was very little sport and certainly no racing held on a Sunday.

The TAB pursuit of turnover kicked off with the introduction of sports betting in July 1996. The first sports bet available, was a Trans-Tasman rugby test between the All Blacks and the old foe across the ditch. The willingness for kiwis to embrace a sports punt was the $1.15 million dollars bet on the match. For the record the All Blacks thumped the Wallabies 43-6.

David Tua's world heavyweight title fight with Lennox Lewis in 2000 was another big earner for our countries betting agency, with a turnover in excess of one million dollars. While Football World Cups attract big betting, the biggest turnover to date was the 2011 Rugby World Cup held in New Zealand.

Prior to the introduction of off-course betting in 1951, with the introduction of the first two TAB offices in the unlikely venues of Fielding and Dannevirke, the only way to place a (legal) bet was to go to the races. However illegal bookies thrived, with every pub and billiard hall in the country having a bookie or two on site on race-days.

In the puritan times of the 1950's, the newly established betting shops were hidden away in dark alleyways with very little signage to indicate the nature of the business. Fast forward to today and the ability to go on the punt is available through the web twenty-four seven.

Whether this is morally sound is another story.