Government spending on greyhound racing in Tasmania has grown faster than education funding, while the cost of keeping each job in the industry has jumped 91% over the past decade, according to new economic analysis that has prompted calls to end taxpayer support.
Economist Saul Eslake’s report shows funding for greyhound racing has increased at an average of 5.6% per year, compared to 4.1% for education – raising eyebrows over the government’s spending priorities.
“Economically, greyhound racing is on life support,” Greens MLC Cassy O’Connor said. “Ethically, the industry is corrupted beyond repair.”
The report notes that the cost of maintaining each job in the industry now sits at $12,140 and that Tasmania is spending more than twice the national average to keep the sport afloat.
“The number of race meetings, the number of races, the number of starters, the number of spectators attending race meetings, the number of greyhound racing club members and the amount gambled on greyhound races, are all trending down,” Eslake said.
“The only thing that is heading in the opposite direction is the amount of government funding provided to the ‘industry’.”
Independent MP Kristie Johnston says the numbers make cutting taxpayer funding a “no-brainer”, pointing to EMRS polling that shows 79% of Tasmanians oppose greyhound racing.
“The end to taxpayer funding for Tasmanian greyhound racing is in sight, with a sensible pathway to phasing it out by 2029,” Johnston said on Thursday.
Eslake’s analysis shows Tasmania spends $12.70 per person each year on greyhound racing, the highest rate in the country, and well above the national average of $5.27.
The state has provided $74.6 million to greyhound racing over the past 15 years, rising from $3.5 million in 2010-11 to a projected $7.5 million in 2024-25, according to Eslake’s research.
“The ‘returns’ from this steadily increasing ‘investment’ have been steadily diminishing,” Eslake writes in the report, which was commissioned by a coalition of 12 animal welfare advocacy organisations including the RSPCA and Dogs Homes of Tasmania.
The economist found wagering on greyhound races has fallen almost 26% since 2021-22, more than twice the decline seen in horse racing over the same period.
He found betting on greyhound races has dropped by nearly 26% since 2021–22, more than twice the fall seen in horse racing over the same period and that race attendances have dipped from 26,700 in 2011–12 to 23,740 in 2022–23.
A 2023 EMRS poll also found that only 1% of Tasmanians had attended a greyhound race in the past year and just 3% were likely to go in the next 12 months.
The report lands as Tasmania’s 20-year funding deal with Tasracing approaches its end date in 2029.
That agreement dates back to 2009, when the state government sold off TOTE Tasmania and committed to $27 million a year in indexed grants to Tasracing.
Eslake places Tasmania’s situation within a broader global decline of greyhound racing, noting the sport is now banned in 44 US states, with only West Virginia still operating tracks.
New Zealand will phase out greyhound racing by July 2026, while bills to ban the sport are before the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.
“There does not appear to be any compelling reason, beyond inertia, why Tasmanian greyhound racing should continue to receive the generous government funding which it has long enjoyed,” Eslake said.
He described the 2029 deadline as “an opportunity to stop throwing ‘good money after bad’”.
A Tasracing spokesperson told Pulse the “vast majority” of the $7.5 million funding provided to the greyhound racing code comes from commercial deals.
The said the racing industry was “self-funded” prior to the 2009 agreement being implemented and that it was “partly funded” by taxpayers to the tune of $36 million in 2023-24.
“Current funding is supplemented by Tasracing and revenue generated by its own strategic commercial decisions,” the spokesperson said, adding other funding streams through race field fees, media rights and sponsorship have grown by about 130% over the past five years.
“The Tasmanian racing industry’s economic contribution to the state is growing. In 2021-22 the Tasmanian racing industry generated close to $208 million in value-added contribution to the Tasmanian economy, 40% of which directly benefited regional economies, according to a study by IER.”
“As to the popularity of racing, wagering turnover across the three codes of racing, including greyhounds, has increased by 19% over the past five years. Greyhound wagering is up by 6% year to date in 2024-25 compared to last year.”
