The tug of war between the Gambling Regulatory Authority and the Mauritius Turf Club is intensifying as we speak. The races are taking place in camera and the MTC is registering unprecedented losses. We speak to the new acting CEO of the Mauritius Turf Club, Jérôme Tuckmansing, about this and more. While revealing his passion for the 209-year old club, he gives us a frank view of the situation.

You are the new acting CEO of the Mauritius Turf Cub and you are taking over in the middle of a tempest between the club, particularly Jean Michel Giraud, and the Gambling Regulatory Authority. Could you tell us a bit where we are in relation to that?
There have been some changes regarding the MTC. Now the horseracing organiser is the Mauritius Turf Club Sports and Leisure (MTCSL), a new company. Jean Michel Giraud was elected by the members of the MTC on March 5th.

So what are the problems you are dealing with as a club? 
The issue that we have is that the MTC can’t organise horseracing. It is the MTCSL which is now in charge of that, and the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) has put in place a regulation that requires anyone involved in racing to have a personal management licence to operate. All directors of companies must have this licence.

And the licence is issued by the GRA, isn’t it? 
Yes, and if you don’t have this licence, you can’t be the director of a company.

And what is the purpose of the personal management licence? 
This licence applies to all betting operators. The idea was to ensure there is some control regarding the horseracing industry. So, with the change in law again, the MTC has incorporated the MTCSL as a horseracing organiser. All the administrators are directors of this company, except Jean Michel Giraud who, sadly, has not been given a personal management licence.

Why didn’t? After all, he is someone who has devoted a big chunk of his life to the MTC, isn’t he? 
The reason that was given was first that he is considered a politically exposed person.

How is he politically exposed? 
It seems that there was an article in a newspaper some years back where he had said that he had addressed a political meeting. That is why he is considered a politically exposed person. And then he made some comments on a radio show and a case was entered at the CCID. There was another case of breach of Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) regarding an article he shared on Facebook and which was followed by a summoning to the CCID. SO the CCID are saying the cases are still ongoing so they cannot give him any clearance to have the licence.

And that’s it? 
No, he entered a case in court against the GRA and that too is ongoing.

One of the bones of contention between the GRA and Jean Michel Giraud is that he publicly said that he was going to put an end to the mafia operating within the system. Is there a mafia? 
During his electoral campaign, he said that he would combat illegal betting.

He talked about a mafia… 
Yes, the illegal betting is done by the mafia, which has been operating for years and years. This was his main argument during the campaign. He wanted to eliminate illegal betting or at least curb it because it is putting our club financially at risk. Yes, there is a mafia, no one can deny that. I think everyone knows that we have a lot of illegal betting across the island on horseracing, which is detrimental to the MTCSL and the government.

Does this mafia have political links? 
We don’t know. It’s very difficult for me to reply to this question. I can’t say whether they have political links or not but they are very powerful, very well organised and they have been on the scene for years. Unfortunately, there were some decisions taken that encourage illegal betting.

Which decisions? 
I will give you two examples. First, the fact that the government decided to ban all off-course bookmakers has encouraged illegal betting. There were eight of them. So, financially, our turnover dropped by Rs40! And the government lost Rs120 million in betting taxes, without counting all the licences, which could take the government losses to Rs150 million a year!

How does that encourage illegal betting? 
It does in the sense that all those betting did not return to the legal circle but went to illegal bookmakers. Secondly, for two consecutive years, there was an increase in betting taxes. Last year, it went up from 10 to 20%, and this year, the tax is projected to go up to 40%. This again will encourage illegal betting.

You are directly targeting the GRA, aren’t you? 
Well, there have been many regulations imposed on us for the last two or three years. Some are good and have helped us but there are other regulations which are not helpful. We are the horseracing organisers, so by putting directives, the GRA is getting involved to some extent in the horseracing organisation. We have been in the business of horseracing organisation for 209 years, it is our main activity and we know it very well. Everyone should know their role and act accordingly. The GRA is the regulator. It is the authority. We are the horseracing organisers. Each should know what they have to do so that the patrimoine we spent 209 years building is not jeopardised. We have 3,000 families that depend on horseracing. This should not be put at risk.

Who is putting this at risk? You are accusing the GRA and the GRA is pointing the finger at you. Who is jeopardising the industry? 
It’s not just the authorities. There are many factors putting the industry at risk. First the illegal betting…

Everyone is condemning illegal betting but who is responsible for allowing it to carry on? 
The police des jeux should be restructured and given enough manpower to be able to combat illegal betting. The GRA must also ensure that the laws are respected and the penalties are higher than what they currently are.

What you are saying is that the GRA is not doing enough to combat illegal betting? 
Yes. They can do more. They have to have a strategic plan.

Don’t they have one? 
As far as I know, they don’t have a plan. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have banned off-course bookmakers and increased the betting tax – two things which have unfortunately increased illegal betting.

So they are in fact doing the opposite of what they should be doing, aren’t they? 
Yes, exactly! The legal betting turnover for horseracing alone was Rs5.5 billion in 2019 – I skip 2020 because of Covid-19. We estimate that the illegal betting is twice that much. The biggest bets and done through illegal bookmakers, credit betting or by phone. Here, we normally have smaller bets. So there are around Rs11 billion out there being exchanged through illegal betting. Out of each Rs1 billion we manage to recover, Rs120 million will go to the government.

Has it always been like this? 
There has always been illegal betting but increasing the off-course bookmakers’ licence three years ago from Rs1.5 million to Rs3.5 million per season and increasing the betting tax have contributed to worsening the situation by increasing illegal betting. If illegal bets continue, we won’t survive for long.

There was a very important report on the horseracing industry that got lost between the State House and Government House and bits and pieces of it found again. Were any of the recommendations in that report implemented? 
Parts of it were. For example, the repost recommended that the horseracing organiser should be a public limited company. That was implemented last year. There was also a measure in last year’s budget about creating a horseracing authority, which is also one of the recommendations of the authors of the report. But the authorities should implement everything in the report, not pick and choose. Otherwise, we won’t survive for very long.

Was any of the measures they introduced and which we spoke about recommended by the authors of the report as far as you know? 
As far as I know, there is nothing in the report about increasing the licence fees of betting operators or removing the off-course bookmakers. For me, what we must do is sit with the GRA around a table and talk about the future of the industry.

Why don’t you? 
Ever since he was elected, Mr Giraud has been asking for a meeting with them but his request has not been accepted. Personally, I do have operational meetings with the GRA but they are only about operations. We have to sit down together and work out a strategic plan for horseracing.

Do you feel there is any willingness on behalf of the GRA to meet you to discuss the way forward? 
Up to now, no but I do hope we can sit together with the board of the MTCSL and the board of the GRA and put a committee in place to discuss the future of horseracing. It is the only way to sort out all these issues. We have more experience than they do in the horseracing organisation, they have experience in gambling operations and legislation, which we don’t have. By sharing ideas, we will have something much more productive for the horseracing industry in Mauritius.

You are newly seated in a seat that has always been occupied by Franco-Mauritians. Are things changing at the MTC? 
Appointments are based on meritocracy. I have been in charge of finances for the last six years. And yes, you are right. Things are changing and they should continue this way.

So what are your plans for the club? 
With the the Financial Intelligence and Anti-money Laundering Act (FIAMLA) and the money laundering situation, we have now recruited a legal head of compliance to ensure that we comply with all the laws, regulations and directives of the country and put procedures in place so that we operate as a company and no longer as an association or a club. My objective is to be in line with all the legislation governing a company, the GRA Act and annexed directives. We are also working on an integrated software for the racing so that information goes out to the punters so that they can bet more. We are trying to use the technology available today, something we are rather late in doing. The idea is also to encourage more people to come to the racecourse.

How are you managing now that no one can come to the races and that all the races are done in camera? 
It is very difficult. Financially, we are very dependent on on-course bookmakers. They contribute between 40 and 45% of our turnover. Every race is loss-making. This year, we have reduced the loss slightly but we are still not making a profit. We expect to go back to business by August next.

Back to business means a big risk for the population, considering the crowds associated with horseracing… 
Yes, it is a big risk for people, for us and for the industry. I think what the board of directors has decided.