GRANT LYNCH’S LIGHTNING BET – FULLY AUSTRALIAN OWNED

GRANT LYNCH FIELDING AT GRAFTON LAST WEEK

IT’S 100 per cent Australian owned – and customers come first, second and third.

The leading bookmaker at Newcastle and Kembla Grange Saturday meetings, GRANT LYNCH is understandably immensely proud of his LightningBet business, which now incorporates racing and sports betting.

“We’re open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Lynch said today.

“And we are now providing withdrawals for our customers three times a day.

For example if a customer makes a withdrawal by 11am the funds will be in their account at a minute after 1pm.

“It’s the customer’s money, so why shouldn’t he or she have it as quickly as possible once they make a withdrawal.”

Lynch also is proud of the fact that he has built up excellent on-course agencies at Newcastle and Kembla Grange on Saturdays.

“I have been fielding at both tracks now for 23 years, and we have a lot of loyal customers,” he said.

“As well as the main provincial Saturdays, I also field at provincial midweeks, Sydney midweeks and major country carnivals.

“Whether it’s on course or online, punters won’t have any trouble getting their bets on with me.

“I warmly welcome anyone who would like to open a LightningBet account. Simply click on the banner at the top of the Provincial RacingNSW website and fill out your details and be sure to use the PROVINCIAL code.”

Lynch recalls that having taken out his bookmaker’s licence, he began displaying the odds at a Kembla Grange meeting which coincided with the second of champion New Zealand mare Sunline’s Cox Plate at The Valley.

But it wasn’t the most auspicious beginning.

“There were 10 races at The Valley, and the 2-1 favorite (Develan, ridden by Brett Prebble) won the first,” Lynch said.

“I’m normally a positive person, but had $15,000 in the bag and knew there were another 40 races to bet on that day.

“I worked out that if I lost $400 on each race, I would be gone on my first day.”

Thankfully for the then rookie bookmaker, he didn’t empty his bag and came out on the right side of the ledger.

Two and a half decades on, Lynch is still in the business and going strong.

Rather ironically though, Gosford-born Lynch earlier had no interest all in racing – and his parents were not racing-minded either.

As such, he would have laughed if someone had told him he would become a bookmaker.

But a set of circumstances changed his thinking.

“I was selling photo copiers, and was looking for a second job to earn some extra Arthur Ashe (cash),” he said.

“I was always ambitious, but knew that to get ahead in life, you had to work hard.

“Fortunately, I got a job on Saturdays working as a clerk for bookmaker Malcolm Waters at Randwick and then Wentworth Park greyhounds that night.”

Lynch did that for about seven years, and seeing first-hand the workings of a bookie must have whet his appetite to give it a try on his own.

“I got my licence and a dear friend of mine, Noel Yeomans, knew the late Keith “Shoulders” Nolan well at Kembla Grange, and got me into the ring there.

“Noel was a great mentor, and was also a wonderful rugby league scout, and brought “Blocker” Roach and Garry Jack to the Balmain Tigers.

Lynch prides himself on being one of the few wholly owned Australian bookmakers being based in a Sydney office.

“The ATC (Australian Turf Club) has been very good to me, and my office (LIGHTNINGBET) is at Randwick, from where we take our phone and internet bets,” he said.

“We’re predominantly a family operation, and cater for all punters, serious and social.”

Lynch admits the wagering landscape has changed dramatically in his two decades plus time putting up the odds.

“Whilst our online business was very brisk during the COVID periods, there’s no doubt there are fewer serious punters on track.

“Racedays are more social events nowadays. We still take plenty of bets, but the number of bigger punters on course has declined.”

Moving with the times and ensuring he doesn’t miss out on taking any bets on course, Lynch enables racegoers to bet with him using the Tap N Go system.

“A lot of people don’t carry cash any more, and use their cards or phones to have a bet,” Lynch said.

“But we pay back winning bets in cash.

“My business prides itself on being customer friendly.

“The present day racegoer doesn’t want a lecture like some cranky clerks gave punters in the old days, and need to leave the track having had a good racing experience.

“Win, lose or draw, we want them to come back again.”

Lynch once set a punter for an even $20,000 about a Kembla Grange winner (it s… in, he said), and also remembers a huge losing bet he took 14 years ago.

“I bet a punter $100,000 to $2500 each-way (odds of 40-1) about a horse called Leica Larrikin at Flemington in July, 2009,” he recalled.

“To be honest, I did back it back to cut such a huge loss, and some of my staff had a go at me for being ‘weak’.

“When the horse won, I said: “Who’s the idiot now?”

Leica Larrikin was ridden that day by Dean Holland, who tragically lost his life from a fall at Donald in country Victoria in April 2023.

This wasn’t a winning or losing bet, but one of Lynch’s real highlights was meeting the late great entertainer Barry Humphries AO CBE, who passed away two days before father of four Holland lost his life.

“I was fielding at a Kembla Grange meeting a few years back, and Barry had an interest in a runner that day with Gai Waterhouse,” he explained.

“His wife had a few dollars each-way their horse with me, and I mentioned to her that I was an unabashed fan of Barry and would love to meet him.

“She said he would come and see me in five minutes, and sure enough he did.

“Barry was fantastic. We chatted for ages, and it was very special to meet him.”

Whilst there are fewer bookmakers operating now than 10 or so years ago, Lynch doesn’t intend being one of those statistics.

“When you think I had no interest in racing at all, I do love what I’m doing,” he said.

“I’ve got no plans to give it away, and in fact we expanded the business when LYNCHBET became LIGHTNINGBET a couple of years back to incorporate sports betting.

“Whilst sports betting continues to flourish, I certainly haven’t abandoned my racing clients.

“Our punters have the best of both worlds. We make sure we properly cater for both our racing bettors along with those who are sports-minded and fancy having a wager or two in that area as well.”

STORY - John Curtis, July 24, 2025