10 questions asked at 2022 Tabcorp AGM
October 28, 2022
Here is the text of the 10 written questions lodged during the 2022 Tabcorp hybrid AGM held on October 26.
1. The Victorian RSL was previously one of our biggest gaming services clients, with all but one of the 50 Victorian RSL pokies venues using our service where we supplied and serviced the machines and charged the sub-branches approximately $28 per day, per machine. The Victorian RSL recently created an in-house pokies management capacity. Have we retained any of the Victorian RSL business, what is the nature of the arrangement and is it profitable?
Answer: CEO said the pivot to integrity services at pokies venues means this sort of RSL business is less important going forward.
2. Troy Stolz is the former Clubs NSW executive in charge of money laundering policies & he become a whistleblower who alleges that many NSW clubs are failing to prevent or monitor large scale money laundering. With our gaming services pivot to integrity, is preventing money laundering at NSW pubs & clubs a business opportunity for us? At the moment, criminal syndicates can load up to $7500 of cash into the 100,000 NSW poker machines. Is the move to cashless gaming the most important integrity reform that should be implemented?
Answer: chair said stamping out money laundering is the sort of thing Tabcorp's gaming services business is now focused on. Watch this clip of the answer via Twitter.
3. Did any of the 5 main proxy advisers - ACSI, Ownership Matters, Glass Lewis, ISS and ASA - recommend a vote against any of today's resolutions? Has their been a material proxy protest vote against any of today's resolutions? Will you disclose the proxy votes before the debate on today's resolutions so shareholders can ask questions about the reasons if there have been any protest votes?
Answer: chair unaware of any opposition. Hang on, the ASA's opposition is public?
4. Justin Milne was forced to resign as ABC chairman in 2018 after firing the CEO and then suffering from media leaks which demonstrated he was proposing inappropriate editorial interference. What lessons did he learn from this experience, including when it comes to dealing with governments. Was the press coverage accurate at the time or are there some relevant points which Tabcorp shareholders should be informed about ahead of today's vote?
Answer: watch chair Bruce Akhurst protest Milne from answering.
5. The CEO suggested in his address that our staff have been wearing cardigans, so to speak, ever since Justin joined the Tabcorp board in 2011. Why didn't Justin get involved to create a move dynamic and innovative culture during his first 11 years on the board? Isn't it a bit late to discard the cardigans in 2022?
Answer: chair said it was important to retain corporate memory on the board. Milne declined to respond.
6. As a former media industry CEO, what does Brett Chenoweth think about Tabcorp's call for a ban on TV gambling advertising during certain hours of the day. Alcohol ads are banned before 8.30pm, except during live sport. Is that the sort of regime Brett and the board believe would be appropriate? Could Adam and the chair also comment on how we are lobbying to deliver this ban on TV gambling ads and whether we are facing opposition from the like of Sportsbet and the Murdoch start-up, BETR?
Answer: watch the response from both the chair and CEO.
7. The ASA Voting Intentions report says that our chair is going to be paid $493,000 a year whereas the previous chair of the much larger Tabcorp before the Lotteries demerger was only paid $430,000 a year? Is this correct and why would the chair of a much smaller business receive a pay rise, particularly whilst the share price wallows below $1?
Answer: Rem committee chair David Gallop defending the chair's pay saying it was a complex company with challenges and they specifically wanted to target quality new directors, not cheap directors. Fair enough, given new directors sound good.
8. Could you please summary the proxy position on the two remuneration items ahead of the discussion. The chair said earlier that he wasn't aware of any proxy advisers recommending against any items today. Could he please correct the record and acknowledge that ASA, a proxy adviser to retail shareholders, is voting against both items, as was just articulated?
Answer: Chair took it as a comment with no response but proxies on both rem items were more than 97% in favour so clearly the big proxy advisers all backed the board recommendation.
9. Given the interesting discussions across a range of topics today, including this LTI grant, could the chair undertake to make an archived copy of the webcast plus a full transcript of proceedings available on the company's website? The likes of Nine, AGL, ASX, ANZ, CIMIC, Domino's, G8 Education and Lend Lease all produced their 1st AGM transcripts in 2021. Will the new Tabcorp follow suit today?
Answer: Yes, we'll do the webcast. No commitment to a transcript.
10. I was originally going to vote against this options grant for the CEO but have reversed that call. Well done to Adam for his honest "discard the cardigans" push. After years working under David Attenborough, he should be given a chance to shine. The new directors also sound good, delivering sound off the cuff speeches without notes. The gambling advertising position is also honorable and well done for also running a professional hybrid AGM with good production values and no censorship. Good luck in 2022-23 as an independent company.
Answer: Chair said thanks, there was a round of applause from the audience and the chair said: "A round of applause for Mr Mayne." Never heard that before. Think it was more agreement with the sentiment of the comment about a well run meeting and good new directors etc.
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