The Victorian Racing Industry will not exercise its right to appeal the Australian Competition Tribunal’s decision to allow the merger between Tabcorp and Tatts Group.
Crownbet and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have lodged appeals with the Federal Court.
“The VRI’s primary concern with the proposed Tabcorp-Tatts merger remains the resulting reduction in competition for the next Victorian wagering licence and the potential risk to the VRI’s funding from 2024 as a result,” Racing Victoria chief executive Giles Thompson said in a statement.
“Upon review of the appeals lodged by the ACCC and Crownbet, which raise contentions that the VRI submitted in its objections to the proposed merger at the Australian Competition Tribunal, as well as concerns that we had in relation to the application of the applicable competition law tests, the VRI has determined that it will not be lodging an appeal with the Federal Court.”
The ACCC and Australian Competition Tribunal apply different tests when assessing a merger.
The ACCC considers if there would be a substantial lessening of competition, while the tribunal can authorise a merger if the public benefits outweigh the public detriments.
The tribunal granted authorisation for the $11 billion Tatts-Tabcorp merger in June, saying it would create substantial public benefits and no material detriment.
