Industry veterans team up with News Corporation on Australian betting venture
Matt Davey’s Tekkorp Capital inks “significant investment” in fledgling brand as Matt Tripp and Robin Chhabra sign on with global media giant
A consortium consisting of News Corporation, Matt Davey’s Tekkorp Capital, former BetEasy CEO Matt Tripp and ex-FoxBET CEO Robin Chhabra have confirmed the launch of a new Australia-facing sports betting joint venture.
Las Vegas based Tekkorp Capital, which primarily serves as a venture capital business in the gaming sector has committed to making a “significant investment” in the new business, with Tripp and Chhabra joining its board of directors.
Chhabra, who served as CEO and then a special advisor to the FoxBet business, will leverage his existing relationships with News Corporation gained during his tenure with the sportsbook, operated on a joint basis with Flutter Entertainment.
Chhabra also serves as president of Tekkcorp Capital. Speaking about the consortium, he waxed lyrical about the potential of the Australian market.
“The Australian online sports betting market has been booming but is ripe for innovation and competition,” Chhabra explained.
“This consortium has the mix of skills, experience and capital to become a significant player,” he added.
Former BetEasy CEO Matt Tripp, who left the Australian sportsbook scene in 2020 following the acquisition of the business by The Stars Group, has retained an involvement in the sector, serving as an advisor and investor to supplier BetMakers.
Media speculation had linked News Corp with a move into the Australian market earlier this week, reports which have now been confirmed.
BetMakers has been selected by the consortium to be its main platform provider, a move which prompted a 21% spike in the firm’s share price in early trading on the Australian Stock Exchange.
CEO Todd Buckingham welcomed the deal, highlighting the potential gateway to the larger market for the BetMakers business.
“This deal will allow the company [BetMakers] to demonstrate that we are a viable pathway for large scale operators that want to enter markets quickly and efficiently, allowing them to focus their resources into marketing strategies,” Buckingham said.
“While this deal is focused on the Australian market, we feel this model will play an important part of our international expansion,” he added.
BetMakers has inked a 10-year full service contract with the consortium to provide its platform technology and managed trading services to the new business.
This agreement functions on a revenue sharing basis and could see BetMakers earn as much as A$300m (£170.1m), with minimum revenues of $80m over the initial 10-year period.
Key financial aspects of this agreement include a A$2m platform establishment fee, and a launch development fee of $500,000 per month payable until the platform launches, a date estimated to be within six months.
The new wagering venture will apply for a sports bookmaker licence under which it will operate a new online wagering product for Australian and New Zealand punters to bet on racing and sports.
The agreement also includes an increasing development and service fee of $7.5m per annum payable over the life of the contract.
BetMakers has confirmed that its advisor Matt Tripp has been issued with 35 million shares in the BetMakers business as part of his advisory agreement with the sportsbook supplier and will transition to advising it exclusively on B2B opportunities in the future.
The sportsbook supplier has also revealed that Matt Davey, who had served on BetMakers board of directors will step down from this role, remaining an active shareholder in the firm.
Davey alluded to the move away from BetMakers board in his comments: “The new wagering venture is a significant investment by Tekkorp Capital and one that I am very excited about.
“As a result of announcing this deal and combined with other opportunities opening up in the U.S. and globally, I am resigning from my position as a non executive director of the company,” he added.