UBA injunction extended

With the initial 10-day injunction by the United Bookmakers Association (UBA) against Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) having expired on April 11, the UBA was granted a further extension by Justice Fraser in the Supreme Court on Monday.

The injunction will remain in force until Friday, April 29, when the matter will be heard in the Judicial Review Court.

According to UBA chairman, Xavier Chin, who is managing director of Track Price Plus Limited, this will allow member companies of the UBA to operate without the threat of a forced shutdown of betting jobs across the island for the time being.

The impasse between the UBA and CTL, over the issue of rights fees, came to a head some weeks ago when the UBA refused to pay increased right fees, effective April 1.

This moved from 3.5 per cent last year to 10 per cent, a situation that would see the bookmakers increasing rights fees payments to CTL from $19 million to $78 million. Meetings between the two parties failed to resolve the issue.

Representatives of the UBA, comprising Track Price Plus, Markham Betting and Champion Betting Limited, met with CTL's deputy chairman, Raphael Gordon, and director, Danville Walker, on March 23, a meeting at which the UBA not only proposed an independent arbitrator, but a one-month extension to the 2010 contract which was set to expire on March 31, 2011.

According to Chin, CTL agreed to the arbitration but not the extension of the existing contract, hence the deadlock.

Gordon recently confirmed that CTL has been losing money since last year's move to allow extended opening hours for bookmakers, particularly on local racedays.

- O.C.