Tabcorp’s national tote nears launch as testing set to begin

Tabcorp is preparing to begin live testing of its long-awaited national tote system late next week after receiving regulatory approval for the next stage of the project.

The testing phase puts the wagering giant’s One Pool initiative on track for a potential full launch on the first weekend of October.

Mt Gambier’s greyhound meeting next Thursday is among the meetings expected to be used during the initial testing, with a Tamworth harness card and thoroughbred racing at Warwick also included in planning for the rollout.

While the early tests will not officially carry the One Pool branding, they will effectively demonstrate how the new national system will operate.

Under the trial, wagers that would previously have been directed separately into the NSW, SuperTAB and UniTAB pools will instead be combined into a single pool for each race.

The change means customers who would previously have bet into any of the three separate tote pools will receive the same dividend on winning bets.

A successful testing period would clear the way for Tabcorp to move towards the broader One Pool launch in early October, replacing the existing fragmented structure with a unified national wagering pool.