SampieriLicensed Bookmakers · Victoria
Three generations
in the ring.
Sampieri Racing takes bets by telephone from a limited number of clients — people we know by name, whose accounts we can stand behind. Accounts are opened by application only.
Every application is assessed individually. We are not able to accept all of them.
The Family
A name that has been on the boards for sixty years.
Bookmaking used to be a trade that was taught through generations. Ours was. What we know about pricing a market and how to service our client accounts, came from standing next to the man who did it before us.
Graeme Sampieri
Founder
Graeme spent more than forty years fielding in Victorian betting rings and is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern Victorian bookmaking. He worked the Melbourne metropolitan meetings through the decades when the rails were the market — before screens, before accounts, when a price was a handshake and a bookmaker's name was the whole of his credit.
Mark Sampieri
Licensed 2001
Mark worked alongside his father for fifteen years before taking out his own bookmaker's licence in 2001. In 2003 the two formed a partnership — the first corporate bookmaking partnership licensed in Victoria — which let the family field across a far wider spread of metropolitan and provincial meetings. He has been pricing markets ever since.
Mitchell Sampieri
Present day
Mitchell grew up around racing and came into the business at eighteen, working alongside his father. He learned the trade the way both men before him did — on course, on the bag, and standing next to someone already doing it. Working at the track is a passion, and he now shares the day-to-day running of the book with Mark, from pricing through to managing client accounts.
Why a phone account
The things an app can't do.
Every corporate bookmaker offers the same product: a price on a screen, take it or leave it, and an account that quietly shrinks if you start winning. A phone account works the way betting worked before all that.
We stand our clients
A bookmaker's job is to lay a bet, not to avoid one. If you beat us, we expect to keep betting with you — that is what the limits are for. Limits are managed sensibly and account by account, but we are not in the business of quietly closing anyone’s account who turns a profit.
Top Fluctuation or Tote Dividend
Take the Top Fluctuation, a Fixed Price, or Tote Dividend at your discretion. The same terms apply to every client’s account. There is no tiering, all accounts are treated equally.
Ask for a price
If it isn't on the board, ask. You can talk to us about a market, a runner or a price the way punters and bookmakers always have. An app gives you what it gives you; a bookmaker gives you an answer.
One button, one person
Press call and you are speaking to one of our team. No app to open, no login, no password reset, no chat window or notifications. Your bet is on in the time it takes to say it.
The Account
A bookmaker on the other end of the phone.
Not a call centre and not an app. When you ring, you speak to one of us — someone who knows your account, your markets and your history without looking them up.
- Markets
- Australian thoroughbred racing.
- Bet types
- Win, place and each way.
- Limits
- Metropolitan — $20,000. Country — $5,000.
- Placing a bet
- Ring the on course betting lines, from one hour before the first race in Victoria until the close of the meeting. The phone numbers are given to you when your account is opened. Anything else — accounts, settlement, a question — goes to the off course number, any time.
- Settlement
- Weekly, after the weekend — or on a cycle arranged to suit your account.
What we ask of our clients
That you bet within limits you have set for yourself and told us about; that you keep your account details current; and that you tell us if your circumstances change. Deposit limits can be set on any account at any time, and we will act on any request to change your betting limit or close your account the same day it is made.
We do not offer sign-up bonuses, free bets, referral rewards or any other inducement to open or use an account. Offering inducements is not what we stand for, and we think they attract exactly the wrong type of client.
Applying
What happens after you submit.
Application
You complete the form — personal details, financial position, and your betting style. It takes about ten minutes and everything on it is used for assessment only.
Verification
We check the document details you gave us against the issuing authority. No scans, no photographs — the details on the card are enough.
Assessment
Mark and Mitchell review every application personally. We look at source of funds, affordability, and whether the account is a fit for our book.
Decision
You hear back either way, usually within three to five business days. Where an application is successful we call you to set the account up, agree limits and give you the betting lines — which are not published anywhere.
Questions
Before you apply.
Why do you need my financial details?
Two legal obligations, not preferences. Anti-money-laundering law requires us to understand where your funds come from, and our licence requires us to form a view that the betting proposed is affordable. The information is used for assessment only — never sold, never shared for marketing.
What happens if I'm declined?
You'll hear from us either way. We can't always give a detailed reason, but most declines are a question of fit rather than a judgement of you.
Is there a minimum bet or minimum turnover?
No. There is no minimum bet, and no turnover an account has to reach.
How long does it take?
Roughly three to five business days, once we have everything we need.
Can I set limits on my account?
Yes. Deposit and betting limits can be applied at any time, and you can close the account whenever you like.
Are there conditions on withdrawing funds?
Funds must be turned over once, at any price, before they can be withdrawn. That is an anti-money-laundering control, not a betting requirement.
Do you offer credit betting?
All accounts are pre-funded to begin with — we do not accept a bet without cleared funds on the account. Credit is something we can look at once an account has some history with us. It is never available at the outset, and it remains at our discretion.
Applications
Put your name forward.
Ten minutes to complete. Reviewed personally. Answered either way.
Begin your application →