Welcome to Straight Shorts - a rolling news update service on the biggest stories in racing, wagering and breeding.
ASX-listed BlueBet in trading halt as TopSport acquisition looms
Shares in BlueBet Holdings, the Australian wagering company that merged with betr last year, have been placed in a trading halt amid speculation it will acquire mid-tier bookmaker TopSport.
The Australian Financial Review is reporting that betr is raising $15 million to bankroll the deal.
An ASX announcement is expected later on Tuesday and comes early in the tenure of well-known bookmaking figure Matthew Tripp’s appointment as BlueBet chairman.
Tim Rowe
BlueBet Holdings is the parent company for its consumer wagering brand betr.
Tripp replaced Michael Sullivan, who founded BlueBet in 2015.
TopSport is operated by Lloyd Merlehan and his son Tristan. Merlehan Sr has been offering an online wagering platform since the early 2000s after making a name for himself as an on-course bookmaker.
An Aussie success story - Stewart drives global ambitions for start-up Pedigrees 360
The sale of an Australian thoroughbred software company to leviathan American investor John Stewart has been completed, with ambitious plans under way to expand the product.
Tim Rowe reports:
Tim Rowe
Greens pose gambling ad solution ahead of federal election
Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has received an offer from the Greens supporting a partial ban on sports betting advertisements.
ABC News has reported that the Greens, who have pushed for a full gambling ad ban, are prepared to accept a compromise to get a solution in place ahead of a pending federal election.
“Gambling ad reform is the unfinished business of this parliament," Senator Sarah Hanson-Young told the ABC.
The proposal offers support for banning all gambling ads an hour either side of sports broadcasts and during children's viewing times, capping ads at two per hour, and banning all gambling advertising on social media.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had not seen the proposal from the Greens.
The Straight reported last month that the issue was likely to be dealt with after the upcoming federal election, which must be held by May.
Bren O’Brien
Run The Numbers
At the weekend, Spirit Of Boom and So You Think became the fifth and sixth Australian stallions so far to register 100 individual winners for the 2024/25 season. It is a historically high number for this time of year. Run The Numbers digs into the background of this trend.
Bren O’Brien
Tabcorp, Sportsbet lead way for bookies’ donations to political parties
ASX-listed Tabcorp has emerged as the wagering industry’s biggest political donor in the latest Australian Electoral Commission data.
In 15 contributions across the reporting period, Tabcorp donated $193,093 during 2023/24.
The federal Australian Labor Party (ALP) received Tabcorp’s largest donation, $60,000, but the wagering company extended its spending to the state divisions of the ALP, the Liberal Party, and the National Party of Australia.
Bren O’Brien
Rival firm Sportsbet donated $88,000 to the ALP, $60,000 to the Liberals and $15,000 to the Nationals for a total contribution of $163,000.
Lobby group Responsible Wagering Australia, whose members include Entain and Sportsbet, donated $118,550, including a $66,000 contribution to the ALP in January 2024.
The list of political donations can be found here.
Perth racecourse fire ‘under control’ but Belmont trials postponed
Fire crews have contained a blaze that broke out at Perth’s Belmont Park racecourse on Tuesday morning.
Perth Racing chief executive James Oldring told Melbourne radio station SEN Track that the fire near the 1300m mark of the racetrack had been brought under control.
However, Oldring said a set of barrier trials had been postponed because of smoke in the area.
