Punters Bled Dry While Turf Clubs Play Government

 

By Sharan Kumar

 

Indian turf clubs are perfecting the art of self-destruction. Instead of defending their sport, they’ve copied the government’s worst instinct—tax punters into oblivion—while ignoring illegal betting’s rapid rise. Entry fees soar, facilities crumble, and broadcast rights slip away. Tote revenues that once touched dizzying heights now limp along, while administrators chase champagne brunches over real reform. The result? Punters bled dry, clubs broke, and racing left gasping for breath.

 

The latest gem: GST on racing hiked to 40 per cent. The turf clubs’ response? A collective shrug. No protest, no attempt to explain how this move would strangle legal betting and fatten the black market. Silence—because why disturb their own comfort zones?

 

These are the same administrators who specialise in knee-jerk decisions, except when their perks are on the line. At the Royal Western India Turf Club, long ago tote betting took a back seat to turning the lawns into a wedding venue. Heritage sport? Try heritage sangeet. When even that didn’t pay the bills, the club sought donations from rich members. Now, instead of boosting the tote, they’ve pinned their future on champagne brunches and a luxury clubhouse. Racing? That’s just the background noise.

 

Elsewhere, clubs like Bangalore, Mysore, and RCTC depend wholly on racing. Hyderabad at least has a cushion, while Madras can manage to pull through with its reserves and bank interest. But Bangalore Turf Club has chosen the art of self-sabotage. Hiking the entry fee by ₹100, BTC now charges ₹300 for a ticket, plus another ₹200 if you want to sit on a chair that may or may not exist. Add food that tastes like punishment and a race book that costs extra, and a day at the races sets you back ₹500 before a single bet is placed. For a regular punter, that’s over a lakh a year just to walk through the gates.

 

Once upon a time, Bangalore’s tote turnover hit ₹2000 crores. Today, it limps at ₹300 crores on good days. Instead of cushioning patrons, clubs “act like the government” and pass the burden along. Here’s a novel idea they never considered: link the entry fee to betting vouchers of equal value, recycling the money back into the tote. More betting, more turnover, more revenue. Too logical, perhaps. Easier to just mug the customer at the gate.

 

And punters aren’t fools—they’ve voted with their feet and their phones. Why pay GST and entry fees when illegal apps offer free streams, no tax, and zero hassle? BTC, in contrast, has the audacity to charge ₹1000 for its webcast while turning a blind eye to rampant signal piracy. The message to punters is clear: we don’t want you here, but please keep funding our mess.

 

Facilities? Crumbling. Food? Overpriced. Service? Indifferent. The club survives on stall fees from bookmakers, a house of cards ready to collapse the day raids or walkouts occur.

 

The latest embarrassment comes from abroad. For 25 years, Sports Radar paid Indian turf clubs around ₹2 crores each for overseas broadcast rights. That relationship is now dead. Why? Because encryption leaks made racing signals freely available on multiple channels and illegal apps. Instead of paying more, Sports Radar walked away, effective December 31, 2025. The clubs, who were eyeing higher fees, have been left flat-footed.

 

Meanwhile, local operator North Alley shells out roughly ₹10 lakhs per race day to RWITC for tote operations and webcast rights—adding up to over ₹5 crores a season. With online betting officially banned in India, one can only wonder what magic trick they’re using to bankroll these commitments. In Bangalore, tote betting still shows signs of life, generating about ₹25 crores even under punishing GST. But with the rate now ratcheted up to 40 per cent, that fragile stream could just as easily dry up.

 

The so-called solution? Reviving the pipe dream of an all-India tote. Enter Uday Eswaran, who famously failed to launch it years ago despite multiple deadlines, now reinstated as chairman. Instead of asking the right questions about operators and sustainability, turf clubs have once again chosen déjà vu over competence.

 

In short: punters are drained, racing revenues are collapsing, illegal betting thrives, and turf clubs prefer brunches and bungling to actual reform. For an industry obsessed with odds, the outcome here is sadly predictable.

 

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