The Intralot network is down in Victoria today due to an Optus network problem. This is also affecting access to the Intralot help desk. Optus people have been working on the problem all day. I am posting this here as a service and not for commentary.
To Mark.
I am not a regular contibutor but I did very much appreciate your advice today re the Intralot/ Optus problem.
I could not get an answer from the help desk line, and was becoming very frustated.
Making matters worse, I have a regular saturday morning client who works for Tatts.
When I told him that the Intralot terminal was down he said that he had heard at work that Intalot were about to quit Australia, and had probably swithed off the network.
Reading some of the existing posts, specifically the ones refering to the LAAV survey , my view is that it was phrased in negative terms, and it is hard to forsee a balanced view being gained.
With respect I ask , how did the LAAV devise the survey questions.?
Did they ask agents for suggestions , or were these ideas put forward by industry or government sources.
It’s a pity that Intralot didn’t have the common courtesy to take 2 minutes of their time to send off an email/terminal message to their agents to let them know what the issue was. It would’ve saved a whole lot of frustration from both us and our customers not to mention losing many of them in the process.
I can only hope your right about Intralot leaving the Australian market Craig. It would be doing us a massive favor as it would them and stop them from dying a slow and painful death in this country because that’s where it’s headed and anyone with some semblance of reality knows it’s only a matter of time.
When the inevitable happens i can tell you right now if someone doesn’t start a class action against Intralot and the government in regards to recouping our $10K we paid for the “privilege” of selling their product then i will. I’d bet my life i’d have the vast majority of people who signed up right behind me. I’m sure Slater and Gordon would relish a case like this one and have no doubt at all they’d be successful.
Dean,
As I have said to you in this place before, the alternative is for you to work with Intralot and build their fledgling network into something viable for our channel.
Mark
Mark,
The problem is that most customers won’t touch Intralot. I have a customer who used to spend $1,000 + on Keno and Tatts 2 every week. He hates Intralot and refuses to play, except for maybe $10 a week. While he is a bigger customer than most, his attitude is typical of most of our regulars.
Why would you waste your time trying to flog a dead horse, when customers refuse to play? They are spending more money on other Tatts games instead, so I am not really any worse off, except for the 2 lots of weekly fees and the $8,500 donation I made to the “Get screwed by Intralot” fund.
I have a choice – spend my time building Tatts by 10% or spend my time doubling my Intralot sales. The 10% Tatts growth would make me far more money, and take far less work.
Like the other Dean, my business will be better off if Intralot left the market and Tattersalls got its monopoly back.
Just read an article on page 3 of today’s Herald Sun. The minister has apparently written to Intralot calling them to a meeting, telling them they were in danger of losing their licence if things don’t improve.
Also interesting were: average weekly Bingo sales $40,000, yet the jackpot goes up $50,000 per week; Keno sales 85% below budget, Bingo 96%, Lucky Lines 97%, and scratchies 51%.
Intralot sales is expected to be $226 million this year less than expected.
Mark – I know you want to give Intralot a go to help our industry survive, the problem with your view, as we can see from these numbers, is that they are not performing. I would suggest that nearly all newsagents and lottery agents in Victoria will celebrate the day if the government does take the step of cancelling their licence.
)This is not the Dean from the last post)
Well well well what perfect timing. I opened the Herald Sun this morning only to find this damning report on Intralots pathetic performance which for the most part just proves what we all already knew. For those that missed it here it is word for word:
[CONTENT DELETED BECAUSE IT BREACHES COPYRIGHT] Go to news.com.au for the article.
Dean,
I have removed the Herald Sun article from your comment because it breaches their copyright. People can get the article here: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,25088570-2862,00.html
Mark
Mark, It is because of operators like you who were so quick to put intralot in your stores that tatts jumped into bed with 7-11 and then complain that tatts dont support you. The fact of the matter is that if all tatts agents had refused to put intralot in then the goverment would have been forced to take their licence. Also having Tatts and Intralot in the market has not created competion due to the fact that they sell different segments of the market, If tatts and Intralot both sold scratchies and both had for example sat lotto draws thats when you would have competion.
Scott,
You make some valid points there. Personally from the start i didn’t want to have Intralot in my store as i was far from convinced that it was going to be a great success.
That being said my reasoning and thinking for going ahead was if i don’t get it, agents around me probably will and i’d risk losing my customers who may want to play both. For those people they’d obviously go to the shop that has both as opposed to the one so in that way i felt my hand was forced and i’m sure a high percentage of Tatt’s agent felt the same thing.
Do i regret it now? Well in hindsight of course i do but at the time i was thinking what i thought was best for my business. I’m also sure if you asked every Tatt’s agent at the time if they had the choice of introducing Intralot (not just in their shop) but the market in general a very high percentage would have said they were happy with how things were and didn’t want another player in the game.
As mentioned, even though we had the choice of installing Intralot in our shops i think you’ll find that it’s not so much that we wanted to, but more so felt we had to compete with other outlets. I’m sure the government and Intralot knew this and counted on it being an integral part of outlets purchasing a license.
Again in hindsight it would’ve been a good thing if all Tatt’s agents had boycotted getting Intralot but to my knowledge nobody came forward and presented the idea. I now wish they did like pretty much the rest of us.
I did make a comment on this site at the time Intralot started, asking Mark would he hold back putting Intralot on, in support of us smaller Agents who could not justify the $10K. Got no support and did not expect it, and thank god, did not go with Intralot. There is always comments about standing united on various issues, and the Intralot one would have been a great place to start, but no, too many people saw the $$$$$$$$$$ and could not get into it quick enough. Intralot hung themselves as far as I can see, they chose to offer it at too higher price which eliminated a lot of agencies. I believed it could only work if everyone had it, and I was right. Many of the shops that did not have Tatts, dived at the chance to put in Intralot so they could compete against close Tatts outlets and they are paying the price, and those same shops will be complaining about Aust Post selling Newsagent product. Intralot, go back to where you came, sack Tony Robinson, he has cost Vic government a fortune, and taken income from many small business owners.
I would also like to know if anyone knows whether us retailers will have any representation at this supposed crisis meeting between Intralot and the state government,we should be at the very least represented by the laav to present our case as well..
i am not an agent , just a online customer, this is not the first time that Intralot have treated their customers with contempt. I now regret investing any of my gambling $ with this orginisation and will now redirect my future gambling $ to Tatts , who at least are contactable and helpfull when their is a technical problem. How the Govt ever gave this mob a license is beyond me.