The Impact of Inflation on Pools and Payouts?

We often hear that pools and pay outs have not kept up with inflation. I have a view that I will share later but what is your take on it?

Do we have less or more ?

When I was punting I was punting the same units I used 30 years ago when on paper I earned a lot less

So imo no

For example 25years ago if your TV broke you had to skimp, save and borrow to replace , now a days they are much more affordable but I'll still have r200 on a horse

Bob I think the majority of punters who are still in the game will be punting bigger today than they were say 20 years ago. The issue I believe is we are not replacing those that retire/expire with new punters or at least not at the same ratio. A visit to any punting establishment shows queues of younger punters wanting to take soccer all to comes while the racing side is sparcely populated by old fu#$ers like me

LSU,this is a subject I have previously commented on as I think it needs addressing .
The payouts are always relative to the stakes /pools (If take out is constant) so it follows that we need to concentrate on stake/pools.
When I started racing in 1968 the unit cost of exotics (PA's and Jpots) was 50c.
To put this in perspective ,an 8 line jackpot cost R4 and was 4% of the starting bank salary,of R100pm, in Natal.
That starting salary is now R6000 and 4% is R240 ......divided by 8 suggests a unit cost of R30 per line.
So has bet costs kept up with inflation? ...........not even close!
If unit costs had increased timeously,especially with the introduction of fractional betting, all the "unfair to punter" steps,like eliminating couplings would not have been needed.Sheer cost would have made exotics harder to win!
Would pools have increased proportionately?...... who knows, but cost does not seem to inhibit gamblers, if the "prize" is right
If pools were much bigger ,take-out could be reduced (running of meetings and other non variables are already inflated) and the "value" of pay-outs would improve.
It is interesting that corpratisation was supposed to make racing more businesslike but the management employed have failed to use basic business common sense IMO!

(this is a subject that needs much more than a simple post ,but this gives a picture of how far unit costs have slid)

Was talking with some old racing friends about the state of racing and how difficult
it is to win BIG money.
One person had won a Jackpot of R4900 in 1970 Layout was R32
We all remembered how much we earned at the time and R4900 was
a fortune
Then one chap said I went to Kenilworth one day and got a bit drunk because I had backed the first 2 winners and was up R300 Never used to drink on the course and had credit
with most Bookies Lost R5200 and did not have the money to pay.
Lucky was the Easter Weekend so did not have to settle on Monday
Punted myself out of trouble on the Monday and finished down R300 for the 2 days
Stopped punting for a month or 2 and never drank during a Race meeting again

Gambling has traditionally been a Blue collar past time in the UK, mostly because it was easy accessible in years gone by

Now that we have more accessible leisure activities I think fewer people are playing racing , so maybe the pools have increased with inflation and just fewer players are paying in ?

Not really on point but I wonder how the pools of the Lotto have fared since inception... I have not taken a ticket for maybe 5 years so don't really follow

Now that I sit and think about it I spend the same on exotics and win bets now as I did 20 years ago. 20 years ago it was slot easier to make money in business than these days.
As for the lotto I have stopped playing the actual lotto for a good couple years and notice that the prizes are shocking, I do believe if bookmakers did not lay the lotto numbers then the pools would definitely be up.(I do how ever play with bookmakers).
As for horse racing I think it has become very difficult,intact when they stopped couplings I was in favor of it but that has changed as I feel the way the results and turnaround of form and huge inconstancy has become I would like them back.

Reading the responses there appears to be no doubt that inflation has had an impact on the relative value of pools and pay outs. On the plus side the cost of a wager has actually reduced as it appears that most players cap their involvement which means the same bet from 10 years ago is now substantially cheaper.
The down side is that average winnings is not nearly as attractive as in years gone by because of value being eroded by inflation.
This is a contributing factor in making racing less interesting to new players and why many experienced players are being driven to alternative forms of wagering.
There are 3 types of money as well as combinations of these. We have novice/inexperienced money(ignorant bets, truth be told, but not intended as an insult to new players), experienced money and informed money. Without large numbers of new players joining the game it becomes a battle between experienced/informed players which is one of the reasons why pool pay outs are often much lower than what the individual odds of the winner and placed runners might suggest.
Simply put, the game needs ignorant money to ensure healthy pay outs. Without this even a static pool will lead to reduced pay outs as skill levels improve over time.
If this is not addressed more players will leave racing for more lucrative alternative betting opportunities.
It is possible for racing to offer far more attractive formats that will address these issues, both in terms of new players and better value for all players taking part in the game.
The sport needs formats that will offer a combination of potentially life changing pay outs, produce regular daily winners and guaranteed seasonal big winners. Simply removing couplings is not the answer as it discriminates against the smaller player and makes already tough bets even more expensive and difficult to win. Fractional pay outs has its place but once again waters down the opportunity of a really meaningful pay out.
Perhaps our operators need some competition to force a creative approach that will ultimately benefit those that matter, the players and owners.

There is also a lot less players LSU


A SA bookmaker told me that horse racing made up 90% of their turnover not that long ago and 90% of their tickets

Now only 15% of their tickets/bets are racing but because of big players it accounts for 30% of their take..