Betfair strikes 11th hour National Rugby League deal
Betting exchange backtracks on league betting exile following commission hike agreement
Betfair has secured a last-minute betting partnership deal with Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) which will see it become the league’s betting partner when the NRL season resumes tomorrow.
The eleventh-hour deal, which had been hotly contested by both parties, will see the betting exchange provider’s commission skyrocket to 10%.
In February, Betfair had abandoned its NRL offering in protest over tax issues but will now offer customers the opportunity to lay and accept bets following the NRL’s acceptance of the commission increase.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that several bookmakers had reluctantly signed betting agreements to offer NRL matches before the start of the season, with the NRL’s fees reportedly the highest for any sport in Australia.
To make the offering financially viable, Betfair’s commission rate has increased from 6% to 10% which is four times larger than the commission the exchange charges the Australian Football League at 2.5%.
Betfair Australia CEO Tim Moore-Barton praised the NRL for its efforts to restart the season in light of the coronavirus pandemic but was resolute on the financial implications of offering the product.
Moore-Barton said: “We applaud the NRL for the incredible work that has gone on during lockdown to secure the NRL’s future and to bring the season back to its fans at the earliest moment possible.
“Unfortunately, their product fee model singles out high volume, low margin operators such as a betting exchange.
“If we kept the commission we charge customers flat on last year we would now be paying over two-thirds of our revenue in product fees – and that’s before other operating costs and taxes – therefore we have made the difficult decision to increase our commission on NRL to 10%,” he added.