Lachlan Murdoch is the mastermind behind New Corp’s move into online betting.Credit:Getty Images
The lure of buying the Australian sports betting division of PointsBet is clear enough – 233,000 active customers – a foothold in our local market that would save Murdoch and Tripp the need to build bookmaking operations here from scratch.
Given the duo’s clear desire to establish a sports gaming beachhead in Australia,this won’t be the end of their quest.
Gambling spending surged during the pandemic lockdowns.Credit:
News teamed up with Tripp more than a year ago and has been working on a local gaming strategy since – although it has revealed little publicly about its plans. According to reports,the timing of the launch was set down for later this year. The consortium hasalready appointed former BetEasy boss Andrew Menz to run the business.
The rationale for News is that digital betting would supplement the challenged earnings its traditional media assets have experienced in Australia over time.
Teaming up with Tripp was a critical pillar in the News strategy. Tripp is one of Australia’s most successful bookmakers,having built Sportsbet into the country’s second-largest bookie behind TAB and then establishing BetEasy in 2014,before selling it to Canadian gambling giant The Stars Group.
The Murdochs have also dabbled in sports betting in the US with the rollout of FOX Bet – which has been slower than anticipated