Australian online bookmaker (founded 1993)
This article is about the online gambling company. For the general concept of wagering on sports, see
Sports betting.
Sportsbet is an online gambling company owned by Flutter Entertainment, primarily targeting the Australian market. Founded in Darwin, Northern Territory,[2] Sportsbet is licensed as a corporate bookmaker in the Northern Territory under the Racing and Betting Act 1993 (NT).
Sportsbet is headquartered in Melbourne and seeks to operate within the boundaries set by multiple Australian regulatory authorities at a federal and state level. This regulation involves varying restrictions on products and promotional activities that can be offered by licensed corporate bookmakers in Australia.
The company was acquired by Paddy Power in December 2010, and since 2 February 2016, it has been owned by Flutter Entertainment.[3]
History
The business name Sportsbet Australia was first registered in 1994, with domain name registered in 1999.
In May 2009, 51% was acquired by Paddy Power, who continued brand name and company operation as a separate entity, while offering additional services.[3] The takeover allowed to acquire rival betting company International All Sports Limited, for 27.2 million euros.[4]
In March 2011, Paddy Power took full ownership of Sportsbet.[5][6]
Paddy Power and British rival Betfair agreed terms for a merger on 8 September 2015. The business is owned 52% by the former Paddy Power shareholders and 48% by the former Betfair shareholders.[7] The merger was completed on 2 February 2016.[8] On 5 April 2016, it was announced that 650 jobs in United Kingdom and Ireland would be lost at the company.[9]
On 6 March 2019, Paddy Power Bet Fair announced that it would rebrand as Flutter Entertainment, pending shareholder approval at the company's annual general meeting in May. Flutter was originally the name of a betting exchange acquired by Betfair in December 2001. The company stated that the rebrand, which took place on 28 May 2019, would not affect the company's individual customer facing gaming brands.[10]
In May 2020, the global merger between Flutter Entertainment and The Stars Group was finalized following regulatory and shareholder approvals. Sportsbet and BetEasy formed the Australian component of the merger.[11] Incumbent CEO of Sportsbet Barni Evans was appointed to lead the combined Sportsbet and BetEasy businesses, with a decision made to move forward with the sole Sportsbet brand, retiring the BetEasy brand following a period of migration and integration.
In November 2021, Sportsbet lost more than $50 million due the oddsmakers mistake.
Markets
Sport
Sportsbet has markets for 24 different sports: American football, Australian rules football, baseball, basketball, boxing, cricket, cycling, darts, Gaelic football, golf, handball, ice hockey, motorsports, rugby league, rugby union, snooker, soccer, "sports novelties", table tennis, tennis, mixed martial arts (MMA), volleyball and waterpolo.[12]
Politics
Sportsbet has markets for elections in many countries.[13] These include federal, state and territory elections in Australia, federal elections in Canada, general elections in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, presidential elections in the United States. This includes markets such as "Democratic/Republican presidential nominee", "next Labor/Liberal leader", "next Conservative/Labour leader" and "year of the next Australian federal election". It has also included special markers such as "next NSW Liberal leader" for the 2023 NSW Liberal Party leadership election, "next Western Australian Premier" (following the resignation of Mark McGowan) and "next state/territory to elect a Liberal government" following the 2023 New South Wales state election, which saw the Labor Party hold power federally and in every mainland state or territory, leaving Tasmania as the only state with a Liberal government.
However, political odds on Sportsbet have faced controversy before.
Entertainment
Sportsbet has markets for several television programs when they occur, including reality television programs and award shows amongst others.[14][permanent dead link]
Controversies
For the 2019 Australian federal election, Sportsbet tipped the Labor Party, led by Bill Shorten, to defeat the incumbent Coalition government, led by Scott Morrison. Sportsbet paid out all bets for Labor winning the election two days before the election, which was won by the Coalition and Morrison was re-elected Prime Minister. Sportsbet lost over $AUD5.2 million due to the early payout for an incorrect result.[15] Another mistake made was the option of punters betting on the Family First Party to win the 2019 election, which had a 1000/1 chance to win despite the party being dissolved in 2017.[16]
References
