Advertising executives said that made the betting agency one of the top five marketing spenders in the country,alongside Harvey Norman,Coles,Woolworths and the federal government.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s AFL grand final,the revelation has fuelled debate around whether tighter rules are needed to stop children and adults with gambling problems from being exposed and to gambling advertising.
Media monitoring group Nielsen ranked Sportsbet as the country’s ninth biggest advertiser in 2020,but Justin Papps – an advertising industry expert at the advisory Sayers – said the company’s own figures also included the full-breadth of its digital spending and sponsorship,which made it a top spender.
“I would expect they are in the top five advertisers in the country,” Mr Papps said. “Digital and sponsorship is clearly a huge part of the advertising strategy for this sector.”
The £26.8 billion ($50 billion) London-listed Flutter told investors that Sportsbet outspent its nearest competitor by almost 80 per cent on advertising in 2020.
Chris Walton,managing director of independent media buyer Nunn Media said the new figures showed Sportsbet’s marketing spend was “right up there with the likes of Harvey Norman,the Woolworths Group and even the big momma of all,which is the federal government”.