Oceania

The tortuous progress of the long planned AU$11bn merger between Tabcorp and Tatts has been eased after the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT) gave the deal the go-ahead, for the second time. The case had been referred back to the ACT for a second review, following opposition to the deal from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and rival betting …

News Corp Australia has confirmed the appointment of Ben Bloomfield as new Chief Executive for its racing digital platform Punters.com.au. Bloomfield takes over leadership of Punters.com.au from outgoing CEO & enterprise founder Luc Pettett who has decided to leave the business in order to pursue ‘new projects’. In 2016, News Corp Australia acquired privately owned Punters.com.au outright from Luc Pettett …

Online lottery operator, Lottoland has revealed it ‘aims to work with the Northern Territory Government,’ after the Australian regulatory body revealed its plans on banning licensees from betting on Australian lotteries. The ban come as a result of  heavy lobbying against synthetic lotteries,  from the Tatts Group and the Australian Lottery and Newsagent Association (ALNA). Adam Joy, chief executive of …

A crowd of 100,000 people are expected to descend on Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday for the 2017 Melbourne Cup. ‘The race that stops a nation’ is the most prosperous handicap race in the world, with prize money of $6.2m available this year, and a rich history dating back over 150 years. Ahead of the race, at 4am tomorrow (Tuesday 7th November) …

Australian sports betting industry stakeholders are gearing up for a market breaking ‘half-a-billion’ Melbourne Cup Carnival week (4-11 November). Flemington Racetrack is certain of sell-out crowds each day, as its showpiece Carnival takes over Australian sports commentary, context and debate. Carnival week is ‘make-or-break’ territory for Australian bookmakers. Last year it was reported that Australian betting giant Tabcorp, had signed-up …

Arena Racing Company (ARC) has agreed a global deal with Vermantia, shortlisted in four categories at the SBC awards 2017, for distribution of greyhound racing content from the UK and Australia. Vermantia, the worldwide omni-channel content provider, will become ARC’s exclusive supplier to a range of international markets, and preferred worldwide partner for producing and delivering bespoke channels to retail …

A proposal to place a AU$5 spin limit on poker machines at Canberra Casino have been met with dismay by the Gaming Technologies Association (GTA). The news follows introduction of legislation by the government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which allowed the venue to add 200 poker machines to its gaming floor, ending the long standing gaming machine monopoly …

The governance of Tabcorp Holdings remains positive that it will conclude its planned AUS $11 billion merger with Tatts Group despite this week’s set-back following the Australian Federal Court’s ruling to ‘refer back’ the deal’s review by the Australian Competition Tribunal (ACT). The Tabcorp-Tatts merger hit a further hurdle on Wednesday, as the Federal Court sided with former deal supervising …

The Federal Court of Australia has dealt a major blow for the planned merger of Tabcorp Holdings and Tatts Group, ruling against the Australian Competition Tribunal’s (ACT) right to approve the AUS $11 billion combination. Former merger review body the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) had filed for a Federal Court review in July 2017, having been dropped by Tabcorp …

Betfair Australia is targeting savvy customers with the launch of its new marketing campaign ‘The Game Within The Game’. The advertising campaign has been developed by Saatchi & Saatchi Melbourne, who stated that they wanted to move Betfair away from generic themes and messaging which have inundated Australian sports betting marketing. Leading the campaign’s creative context, Mark Cochrane, MD of …