Chanticleer

Pointsbet’s $400m scheme-meeting blow-up looks like a fat-finger farce

Somehow, a Japanese social media company paying $400 million cash for a bitsy Australian bookmaker is not the most crazy thing about this deal.

Jun 25, 2025 – 4.27pm

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Bad blood, big egos and apparent user error have turned the contested takeover of ASX-listed bookmaker Pointsbet into a $400 million farce.

Somehow, despite making legally binding “truth in takeovers” statements – which require market participants to be accountable for their public statements made during a takeover bid – plucky rival Betr did not vote against a rival $1.20 a share bid, notionally sending Pointsbet into the arms of Japanese mobile games company Mixi.

Anthony Macdonald is a Chanticleer columnist. He is a former Street Talk co-editor and has 10 years' experience as a business journalist and worked at PwC, auditing and advising financial services companies.