Mattew Tripp’s BetEasy and James Packer’s Crown Resorts have announced a joint venture (JV) that will result in BetEasy’s sports book combining with Crown’s sports book business which includes 100% ownership of Betfair Australia.
The JV will be owned 67% by Crown and 33% by existing BetEasy owners. It has been reported that no money has exchanged hands, with both companies instead contributing working capital to the JV.
The move is said to reinforce BetEasy’s position as the only major Australia-owned corporate book maker operating in the country and will continue to aid in BetEasy’s competition with many of the offshore-owned sports books currently in competition with BetEasy.
Crown chairman, James Packer, had this to say about the JV:
“This exciting new venture will help build an Australian-owned business that can compete strongly with the largely foreign-owned competitors in our wagering industry.”
“Matt Tripp and his team have proven they have the experience and ability to build and operate a world-class business.”
“By leveraging the combined assets of Crown and BetEasy, we will be able to provide significant benefits and opportunities for our existing and future customers. We will continue to develop our technology to create a more enjoyable and cutting-edge wagering experience.”
Tripp added the following:
“It is our firm objective to provide Australians with the best online wagering experience this country has ever seen.”
“James’ outstanding record in business speaks for itself and, along with his world-class team at Crown, I can’t think of a better organisation to partner with.”
BetEasy officially launched in September of this year as a re-branding of the site formally known as ‘BetEzy’ and since then has made waves in the Australian sports betting industry. BetEasy’s current CEO Tripp is the former Sportsbet head honcho.
This latest venture is added to Tripp’s guidance in scoring landmark deals such as the BetEasy’s $50 million five-year sponsorship of the AFL. Tripp will now continue to lead BetEasy’s joint venture with Crown into the next stage of securing BetEasy as one of the largest sports betting websites in Australia.
