Ex-Ladbrokes Aus CEO to unveil new “global betting brand” this week
Dean Shannon’s Neds sportsbook to debut in Australia tomorrow in time for the Spring Carnival ahead of H2 2018 UK launch
Former Ladbrokes Australia CEO Dean Shannon is to debut his new sports betting business tomorrow, EGR Intel has learned, with plans to expand into the UK and other international markets next year.
Northern Territory-licensed neds.com.au is set to go live in Australia at 9am in time for the Spring Carnival, ahead of an expected roll-out in the regulated UK market and parts of Europe during H2 2018.
The new “global brand” will not be focused on the lottery sector, contrary to previous press reports, and according to Shannon, neds will have a particular focus on live betting outside of Australia.
“Among other things, we were initially building a sportsbook to have a go in regulated and grey markets outside of Australia, with the UK being one of the first ports of call, but decided to change tack and have another go in the Australian market that we know well,” he told EGR Intel.
Shannon added: “We have built our systems from the ground up using Go, the language Google created to power its business, and we are 100% cloud based, using Amazon Web Services.
“Our system is designed to handle multi-currency, multiple languages and different types of odds such as fractional, decimal and American odds and has the ability to move quickly into any market we choose.”
The launch of neds.com.au comes just over a year since Shannon left Ladbrokes Australia in September 2016 having worked as CEO of the operator for more than three years.
Shannon had been with Ladbrokes since September 2013 when he sold Bookmaker.com.au – which he founded in February 2012 – to Ladbrokes for AU$22.5m.
His new neds brand will be supported with above-the-line marketing across all forms of media, particularly TV, in partnership with creative and media agencies Ogilvy Brisbane and MEC Brisbane.
Neds will also launch with a feature entitled Bet Boost, similar to a feature on Ladbrokes’ UK site, which will give customers at least one bet boost per day. “This is where neds simply adds more money to your stake at no cost to the client, so the client can win more,” Shannon explained.
“We have also built a very comprehensive bonus engine and a bonus cash concept which will give us unprecedented flexibility,” he added.