CROWNBET ACQUIRES WILLIAM HILL, BUT TABCORP STILL RULE

CrownBet purchased William Hill’s Australian business last week in a deal worth around A$300 million. The move comes almost five years after the company entered the market and ends William Hill’s exposure to the Australian gambling industry.

CrownBet themselves have only recently been acquired by Canadian owned The Stars Group who have purchased a 62% majority equity interest in the Australian sports betting operator from current CrownBet CEO, Matthew Tripp. The Stars Group have effectively replaced Crown as the majority shareholder in CrownBet.

Despite the acquisition, the newly merged Tabcorp Group are still the market leaders with a 33 percent share, followed by Sportsbet on 26 percent.

The newly merged CrownBet and William Hill account for a combined 17 percent of the Australian market, Ladbrokes 12 percent, Bet365 4 percent and other bookmakers 8 percent.

Sportsbet’s parent company Paddy Power were also in the market for the UK listed William Hill business and despite losing out, say they have not been deterred in their quest to grow their Australian business arm.

Sources: AFR, Reuters, Gamblinginsider.com, Punters.com.au