News Corp Joins Consortium with Plans to Launch Australian Sports Betting Platform

News Corp Joins Consortium with Plans to Launch Australian Sports Betting Platform

Murdoch family targets the lucrative sports betting market

by - Thursday, April 21st, 2022 8:16

horse racing wagering
News Corp Joins Consortium with Plans to Launch Australian Sports Betting Platform in the Wall Street Journal, the Rupert Murdoch family-controlled News Corp (NWSA) has joined a consortium that is planning to launch a sports betting platform in Australia.
The platform will be called BetR and is scheduled for launch over the next few months

News Corp Joins Consortium with Plans to Launch Australian Sports Betting Platform

The platform will be called BetR and is scheduled for launch over the next few months just in time for Australia’s horse racing season which starts at the end of August. The platform will be powered by BetMakers, an Australian wagering data and analytics company with Nevada-based Tekkorp providing the initial funding and tasked with attracting further investment.

News Corp Joins Consortium with Plans to Launch Australian Sports Betting Platform

News Corp’s interest in the sports betting market comes as no surprise as the company looks to diversify its portfolio following the sharp decline of its print media business over the last 2-3 years.

However, the company will face stiff competition in a mature Australian sports betting market. That market is currently led by Sportsbet, which holds a 50% market share and handled $15.6 billion in wagers in 2021 alone. This means that News Corp will be targeting a market with a value of around $31.2 billion.

News Corp Joins Consortium with Plans to Launch Australian Sports Betting Platform
Ciaran McEneaney
News Corp Joins Consortium with Plans to Launch Australian Sports Betting Platform