News Corp Australia is advancing towards the launch of its bookmaker after it agreed on a partnership with the gambling pioneer, Matthew Tripp. Meanwhile, BetEasy’s former chairman is speculated to be the chief executive of the new bookmaker that may soon overtake the Australian market.
The news about the agreement between News Corp and Tripp came after the news and media company of Rupert Murdoch spent more than a year in search of a gambling partner for the launch of its bookmaker. After the major company considered several potential candidates for the joint venture, News Corp decided to pick Tripp as its partner for the bookmaking business.
News Corp and Tripp Partnership May Launch New Bookmaker Within Next Few Months
News Corp has agreed to join forces with several investors who are linked to the Australian wagering entrepreneur Matt Tripp and the iGaming investment fund Tekkorp. The official agreement between the participants in the joint venture still has not been reached, with no details on the formal deal given. However, sources reported that News Corp has been in talks with major sports advertisement companies for a possible launch of a bookmaker marketing campaign in the following month.
According to industry sources, the position of a chief executive of the new bookmaker is to be taken by Andrew Menz. He used to be the CEO of BetEasy and then took on the position of chief commercial officer of Sportsbet after the merger of the two parent companies of the group. In May of last year, Menz stepped down from his position at Sportsbet, sparking rumours about him joining a new venture led by Tripp.
The size of the company shares to be owned by each participant in the partnership are still unknown. However, sources assume that News Corp will own a smaller portion of the shares. While the news and media group had previously launched the Fox Bet brand, the bookmaker that will launch as a result of the joint venture with Tripp is expected to be a new brand.
News Corp New Bookmaker Expected to Overtake Australian Betting Market
While News Corps has been suffering quite the losses in its traditional print media sector, the company is hoping that the joint bookmaker venture will be profitable enough to compensate for the low earnings of other assets. A partnership between a broadcasting media and a betting company is nothing new to the steadily growing gambling market in the US.
The new bookmaker, which will be able to make use of News Corp’s huge media presence, is expected to be a strong competitor in the Australian wagering market that has been consolidated in the past few years. In 2019, the huge betting companies Sportsbet and BetEasy merged their businesses. Meanwhile, the betting juggernaut Tabcorp is continuously overhauled by its competitors.
While the agreement between News Corp and Tripp is still in process of negotiating, it is believed that BetMakers Technology, in which Tripp invested $25 million last year, will be the provider of the technology platform for the new bookmaker.
- Author
Olivia Cole
