PointsBet has expressed a strong intention to keep its Australian betting business after the company rejected a A$220 million offer from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and Matthew Tripp, the founder of BetEasy and the man who put Sportsbet on the map.
According to reports, the PointsBet board rejected a non-binding offer from a consortium led by News Corp Australia a fortnight ago. The offer was thought to be in the A$220 million – A$300 million range, but the betting operator’s board, led by Brett Paton, rejected Murdoch and Tripp’s proposal and didn’t put it to shareholders.
News Corp Will Go Live with Betting Business This Year
The Murdochs are trying to offset their media business losses in revenue by going into the booming betting industry. Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch control the Fox media empire and also own The Australian and Foxtel in Australia.
However, the decrease in revenue their media companies have been experiencing in the last decade convinced the Murdochs to enter the betting industry and strike a partnership with Tripp several months ago.
It is widely expected that News Corp’s online betting business will go live before the end of the year, and they have already made Andrew Menz, the former BetEasy leading man, their CEO.
PointsBet Bid Was to Give New Business Scale
If the PointsBet offer was accepted, it would have increased News Corp’s customer base. However, the rejection doesn’t mean that the Murdochs and Tripp will delay the launch of their new betting business or change the timing of their wagering license.
Experts estimate that PointsBet’s Australian division is worth A$200 million+. On the other hand, the market capitalization of the PointsBet group is A$604 million.
Expanding in the US and Growing in Australia
Even though PointsBet is based in Australia, the bookmaker has made the US its focus of operations. It operates in ten US states and plans to grow its business even further. That’s why it’s a little surprising that the company has decided to give up on more than A$220 million that could have funded its US expansion.
However, when you look at PointsBet Australian numbers, things become clearer. In the first three months of the year, PointsBet had a 37% rise in turnover in Australia which reached A$579.4 million.
If you go back to 2021, you will also notice that PointsBet’s Australian turnover increased by 140% to A$2 billion for the year. The campaign that featured Shaquille O’Neal and PointsBet’s improved marketing efforts certainly helped with that increase in turnover.
PointsBet announced a year ago that the company was aiming for a 10% market share increase by 2025.
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