BetEasy Beats Out Rivals To Land AFL Betting Deal

BetEasy has won the rights tussle for AFL betting, seeing off opposing bids from big-name rivals to be the AFL’s official betting partner for the next five years.

Matt Trip made his return to online bookmaking with the launch of BetEasy in September and his upstart internet betting firm outbid global operators like William Hill and Paddy Power to land the deal.

It’s being suggested that Tripp had to shell out in the region of $10 million per year to take over the contract from 2015. It was too rich for Tabcorp, the current AFL betting partner, who declined to match BetEasy’s bid leaving Tripp to celebrate his first big win since he bought the former BetEzy in March.

Tripp had been out in the cold for three years following the sale of his stake in Sportsbet to Irish betting giant Paddy Power in 2011 and returned with BetEasy promising an aggressive assault on the overseas companies that have muscled into the lucrative Australian betting market.

“It shows we’re very serious and we’re here to stay and we’re delighted to align ourselves with what we think is Australia’s biggest sport,” said Tripp. “We beat out some of the big European wagering firms and I think that is important to note. All our profits will stay here in Australia, so I hope punters will come to us for that reason.”

What Does Tripp Get For His $10 million?

BetEasy will gain exposure with some signage at AFL games along with advertising on the AFL’s website and its other digital platforms. It’s a five-year deal and BetEasy will replace TAB as the AFL betting partner from 2015 to 2019.

It won’t get AFL matches streamed via BetEasy’s website, the company declined to pay the asking price. But, it opens the door to possible sponsor arrangements with AFL broadcasters Seven Western Media and Foxtel as BetEasy also gain first rights to the negotiations.

It is understood that Tripp is keen to land a deal with Seven which has a free-to-air presence across Australia and if the deal comes off, it could cost BetEasy in the region of $20 million for the combined AFL contracts.

The Power Of Promotion

Tripp is a member of the BRW Young Rich list, the 41-year-old made his $122 million fortune from the Sportsbet sale to Paddy Power. He formed a group of backers who bought out BetEzy which had 6,000 regular customers.

Through sponsorship and website promotions, BetEasy is taking market share from its better known rivals and picked up 100,000 active customers during the spring carnival and has increased personnel to 200 members of staff.

The company is on the lookout for more sponsorship opportunities and could be a sponsor for Nine Entertainment’s cricket World Cup coverage in February and March.

The BetEasy supremo said, “We think there are lots of opportunities across sports, be it sponsorship or otherwise. We sponsored the Masters golf recently and that went well for us, so we are actively looking for other opportunities.”

The group is proving to be serious about being the only major Australian-owned bookmaker in the nation’s betting market where it is positioned alongside listed companies Tabcorp and Tatt’s Group.