Bet365’s decision to quit China and “various other jurisdictions” continues the move towards regulated markets for the ubiquitous global wagering brand.
UK-headquartered Bet365 confirmed that its unregulated presence in China would come to an end on March 27, while it ramps up its profile in the United States, including its recent high-profile sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball club, the St Louis Cardinals.
Several betting companies have ended their involvement in “grey” markets like China as increasing scrutiny is being put on their global operations by regulators in booming markets such as the US and Brazil.
“The group has decided to align its focus to its core competencies in its core markets by consolidating its resources to centre on gaining market share in regions that provide long-term sustainable revenue,” a Bet365 statement said.
It is estimated that its operations in China were only a small part of its global reach, and that strategically a retreat from such markets makes sense.
Founded and owned by the Coates family, based in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, Bet365’s brand has gone global with licences in over a dozen different countries, including Australia.
Because it is a privately owned company, it doesn’t have the disclosure requirements of its publicly listed global rivals Flutter and Entain. That has meant its global footprint is harder to measure.
However, its most recent financial documents filed in the UK for the 2023/24 financial year indicated gross profit of £3 billion (AU$6 billion), and overall profit of £500 million ($1 billion).
In comparison, Flutter’s gross profit for the same year was AU$8.9 billion, while Entain’s was similar to Bet365’s at around AU$6 billion.
However, it has a much smaller footprint in Australia than its two global rivals.
The Straight has found that Bet365’s wagering revenues in Australia through its Hillside (Australia New Media) Pty Ltd company in 2023/24 were $261 million.
That is a quarter of that of Entain (circa $1 billion) and dwarfed by Sportsbet, whose Australian revenue in that year was $2.3 billion. Tabcorp’s revenue was just under $1 billion that year.
Bren O’Brien
Bet365 does not publish its market share numbers, but given its revenue is roughly on par with Pointsbet (circa $245 million), and a quarter of both Entain and Tabcorp, a rough estimation would put it at around 5 per cent.
Bet365 has built a profile in Australia through advertising and sponsorship. Soon after it launched in Australia in 2012, it enlisted actor Samuel L Jackson to tell the audience about “the world’s biggest online sports betting company”.
While its promotional activities have varied in that time, it has still taken on a raft of sponsorships, including 54 race clubs in Victoria alone, as well as media companies such as SEN and SENTrack and more recently Victorian industry radio station RSN.
Its 2023/24 accounts reveal it spent $42.1 million on marketing and advertising in Australia. This compared to $71 million spent by PointsBet that year and $111 million by Tabcorp.
Bet365’s position in the Australian market was put under a cloud last year when AUSTRAC announced it had commenced an enforcement investigation into whether the company had complied with its obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.
That investigation is continuing, however, Northern Territory-licensed Bet365 is still extremely active in the Australian market.
It would seem globally, the company, which is headed by Denise Coates, is intent on building its footprint in fully regulated markets, which now represents more than 90 per cent of its business.
Warwick Barr
The USA is key to that as its recent high-profile deal with the St Louis Cardinals indicates along with sponsorship with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.
That St Louis deal comes as Missouri, the home state of the Cardinals, has legalised sports betting, with several betting brands expecting to launch products into the market in the second half of the year.
Bet365 already has licenses in surrounding states Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee.
