Spring favourites cost betr $7 million, but bookie remains confident in growth path

Betr has revealed that punter-friendly results during the spring had a $7 million impact on its bottom line, but the publicly listed bookmaker remains confident in its growth trajectory, saying it is outperforming the market by a factor of four when it comes to turnover.

The company delivered its quarterly update on Thursday, confirming that over half of its $13.2 million H1 EBITDA loss was attributable to a run of favourable results for customers across the NRL and AFL Grand Finals and the spring carnival.

That saw Betr’s net win margin drop to 8.5 per cent during the December quarter, representing a 3.3 per cent decline from the same period in 2025.

But chief executive Andrew Menz revealed its net win had returned to the targeted range of 10-11 per cent in the past two months and the company remains optimistic that the medium-term outlook is strong.

“Pleasingly, net win margin has reverted to north of 11 per cent in the December to January period, giving us confidence in our long-term consistency,” he said. 

He also said the EBITDA figure was impacted by front-loaded strategic investments in brand and product, as well as the establishment of its Sky Racing feed.

Digging deeper into the run of winning favourites, betr revealed that six of its eight highest turnover runners during the 2025 Spring Carnival had won, compared to just two in that category in 2024.

The Everest winner Ka Ying Rising, who started $2.05, generated 68 per cent of turnover in that race, while VRC Derby winner Observer ($2.50) held 72 per cent. Via Sistina struck twice, delivering a Cox Plate victory at $2.35 when she held 60 per cent of the market, and a Champions Stakes win at $1.80, when she carried 79 per cent of money.   

Several other bookmakers described VRC Derby Day/Golden Eagle day as disastrous for their bottom lines, but betr is the first to reveal such detail.

Chief operating officer Bill Richmond said the bookmaker was more susceptible than others due to betr’s customer engagement strategy of being best odds on favourites over the carnival.

“It really was just that concentration of really short-price favourites over the carnival,” he said.

“I think if you look at historically, particularly the businesses delivered consistently above that 10 per cent margin, certainly we’ll return to those historical numbers in December and January.”

Menz said that even discounting the impact of the mergers/acquisitions with Bluebet and TopSport over the past 18 months, betr was growing substantially faster than the rest of the industry, with turnover up 13 per cent.

“Industry estimates suggest that the Australian wagering market expanded approximately two to three per cent over the same period, and our underlying growth represents roughly four times that market growth rate, demonstrating that our strategic priorities are directly translating into greater market share,” he said.

“We expect to continue to take share over the next 12 months, in which period we expect to gain payback on that brand and product investment.”

As revealed in a trading update two weeks ago, overall turnover was $444.4 million, a 25.9 per cent increase, reflecting the impact of the TopSport acquisition and the ongoing positive effects of the Bluebet merger.

Betr also revealed it expected to deliver H2 FY26 EBITDA of between $5 million to $8 million, with projections that FY27 normalised EBITDA would be between $13 million and $19 million.

“The company is now set up to deliver sustainable and meaningful profitable growth over the medium term,” Menz said.

One of the product additions has been the addition of the Sky Racing feed to the betr offering. While it cost $2 million to implement, Menz said this had generated immediate uplift.

“Customers viewing Sky have recorded a 15 per cent increase in bet frequency and a 27 per cent uplift in turnover, which has translated into a 9 per cent improvement in racing net win when compared to the overall better customer base year-on-year,” he said.

He also reaffirmed betr’s strategy to achieve inorganic growth through further mergers and acquisitions.

While betr had not secured a controlling share in PointsBet with its hostile takeover attempt last year, Menz said that the 27.7 per cent it retained was a strategically valuable asset, and it was still assessing its options as to the best path forward.