...."right on the heels of PointsBet"

Fin Review 5 Feb.

Betr is considering returning to the 100-to-1 odds it first promoted when it launched two years ago as the ASX-listed gambling group expands with the acquisition of Queensland-based bookmaker TopSport.Betr chairman Matthew Tripp said the aggressive promotion – which would pay out $1000 for every successful $10 bet – would make money for the company now it had the right technology in place and a larger number of customers than when it launched before the Melbourne Cup in 2022.

Mr Tripp, a bookmaker who has bought and sold businesses including William Hill and CrownBet over the last decade, started Betr with the backing of News Corp Australia with a plan to compete with the biggest wagering operators in the country such as Tabcorp and Sportsbet.To support that launch, Betr offered 100-to-1 odds in five major sports – a promotion that generated 300,000 users but also resulted in large early losses and a $210,000 fine. The losses were exacerbated by issues with its wagering platform and the exit of its major backers including News Corp shortly afterwards.Since that unsteady start, Betr has steadily grown, merging with ASX-listed BlueBet last year. On Wednesday, as first reported by The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column, the company acquired family-owned bookmaker TopSport after raising $15 million in new capital.

“Of the mid-tier subscale operators, TopSport is No.1 in terms of turnover, revenue and have a very loyal customer base that has been with them for a long time,” Mr Tripp told the Financial Review. “[This deal] will get us right on the heels of PointsBet in terms of turnover and revenue.”BlueBet chief executive Andrew Menz said a big database was key to taking share from competitors at a time when it is more difficult to market gambling brands and inducements to the public.“We’re trying to build the biggest database we can,” he said. “This game can’t be won by marketing. It won’t be won by free bets. It’ll be won by the organisation that can put the best product out for the right customer at the right time.”When it first offered the 100-to-1 odds, some industry figures suggested Betr stood to pay out up to $50 million if the Melbourne Cup race favourite Deauville Legend won. Instead, roughie Gold Trip took the race.Mr Tripp said a large proportion of customers who had signed up for that promotion had stayed with Betr, although he added that problems with its wagering platform, causing it to crash and making it more difficult for punters to collect their winnings, had led to some drifting away.But he signalled the bookmaker – which last year trialled the promotion with a small group of customers – would do it again.“The market has never seen a promotion like it, and if we had our current product at the time to stand up and retain those customers, we would have been profitable even quicker than we have been,” he said.Betr had relied on ASX-listed technology provider BetMakers to run its app before it merged with BlueBet last year. Its early reliance on BetMakers kept costs lower but ultimately made it difficult to retain customers.Mr Tripp said the merger has resolved those problems. At its second-quarter results, BlueBet reported a turnover of $357 million and a net win – the amount of money it made from customers – of $39.2 million.“Plan B should have probably always been plan A,” Mr Tripp said. “We were a little bit hamstrung because we were sitting and hoping as opposed to actually driving [the product] ourselves.”Mr Tripp said the acquisition of TopSport would bring the company scale, which will allow it to market new inducements to customers.TopSport was owned by father-son duo Lloyd and Tristan Merlehan. Lloyd Merlehan was the first on-course licensed bookmaker in Australia to offer a sports betting service. An upfront cash and scrip payment worth $10 million will be paid to the founders under the deal.“We conducted a thorough process to identify the best partner for TopSport and Betr was the clear choice,” said Tristan Merlehan. “I am pleased to play a key role in its bright future as we grow our share of the wagering market.”