Online bookmaker Betr has begun the slow process of paying tens...

Online bookmaker Betr has begun the slow process of paying tens of millions of dollars to its customers after the young start-up’s 100-1 promotion caused the largest payout in sports gambling history.Tens of thousands of Australians flooded the new company’s app nearly a year ago, placing lucrative $10 bets on the Penrith Panthers at the promotional 100-1 odds. On Sunday night, the Panthers stunned the Brisbane Broncos 26-24 to win their third consecutive premiership title.Betr launched the promotional deal in September last year, which gave all new customers the chance to bet on the outcome of five events, including the Melbourne Cup, NBA basketball, FIFA World Cup and the 2023 AFL and NRL premierships.Nathan Cleary and Panthers teammates celebrate after scoring the match-winning try. GettyMore than 300,000 Australians flooded into the markets, placing the maximum $10 bets, often on the short-priced favourite in each event.After the Panthers’ victory on Sunday night, it is believed two of the bookmaker’s customers won four of the five outcomes, which included Gold Trip in the racing, Argentina in the soccer, Denver in the US basketball and the Pies and Panthers in the AFL and NRL. Those two people turned $40 into $4000.Related QuotesNWSNews Corp$32.730 1.11%1 year1 dayOct 22Apr 23Sep 2321.00028.00035.000Updated: Oct 2, 2023 – 5.46pm. Data is 20 mins delayed.View NWS related articles NECNine Entertainment$2.0500.00Oct 22Apr 23Sep 231.8002.1002.400AdvertisementBetr decline to comment, but sent messages to winners saying the payout was “such a huge hit that to process and settle all the winning and losing bets on these markets will take longer than usual”. It set 5pm on Friday, October 6 as its deadline for payouts.Entrepreneur Matt Tripp, who leads the start-up, previously said he was “ambivalent” to the AFL and NRL results as it had reduced its exposure.Entrepreneur Matt Tripp. Bookmakers who have a large exposure to a particular outcome try to reduce potential losses through “betting back” – placing their own bets with other bookmakers on the same outcome, using those winnings to pay out its customers.News Corp quietIt has not been an easy road for Betr, which launched in April last year as a three-way joint venture between Mr Tripp, Las Vegas consortium Tekkorp and News Corp.Questions have been raised within wagering circles about the future involvement of News Corp with Mr Tripp’s venture. Corporate filings show News Corp owns slightly more than 40 per cent of Betr.All tipped start-up capital into the venture, with senior News Corp executives Mark Reinke and Peter Blunden joining the board. It was part of an effort by News Corp to push deeper into online sports gambling in the United States and Australia.But the media company has already lost large amounts of money on the investment. In recent annual filings, News Corp said its losses related to Betr totalled $72 million. In March, Mr Reinke and Mr Blunden left the Betr board in February.News Corp declined to comment on whether it would be out of pocket after the AFL and NRL finals results, referring questions to Betr.The Panthers’ win capped off a huge weekend for TV audiences, though the AFL narrowly eclipsed the NRL. On Saturday afternoon, 3.86 million Australians watched the AFL final – including 97.4 per cent of the available TV audience in Melbourne, Seven said. At some point over the course of the game, 4.98 million people tuned in.An average of 3.4 million people watched the NRL final. Nine Entertainment, which owns The Australian Financial Review, said 4.6 million people tuned in over the course of the game.Related