How Cairns punter is taking on world’s biggest online sports betting companies
This is the story of a humble Cairns-based punter taking on the world’s biggest online sports betting companies.
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This is the tale of a down-to-earth Cairns-based punter who has decided to throw down the gauntlet to the world’s biggest online sports betting behemoths.
Darren (Dazza) Halpin, 53, started off as an accountant in the remote, sun-soaked tourism hub in Queensland - but you could usually find him with a cold beer and a fistful of betting slips in the local pub every weekend.
A true punter, Mr Halpin lived and breathed horse racing since he was a child, which led him to develop his own online sports betting application called UPC (Ultimate Punters Challenge) Showdown.
The Far North businessman has a considerable stable of thoroughbreds throughout the Australian racing circuit and runs his own micro syndication, called MiRunners.
Mr Halpin launched the app back in March.
“It’s game on,” he said.
“I might only be a little guy in the scheme of things, but we’ve got a point of difference that members are absolutely loving.
“It’s something these betting giants aren’t really interested in doing, because frankly, they can make a whole lot more money by staying with the status quo.”
Based on a tipping competition-style concept, punters choose from 12 selections of 12 predefined races right across Australia.
At the end of the day, whoever gets the highest aggregate score from the dozen races will take out the top cash bounty from a significant prize pool – with a descending scale of winnings for those who also place towards the top of the leaderboard.
Mr Halpin reckons there’s a reason the major betting giants haven’t opted for this tipping competition-style concept.
“We’ve designed it so punters aren’t out there chasing their losses and throwing thousands of dollars down the gurgler on a weekend,” he said.
“Most of our punters will spend $10, $20 or $50 to enter one of four showdowns per week.”
Winnings also don’t get paid out until the following Tuesday after a showdown, to discourage members from over-investing while they’re still riding high on the adrenaline of a win.
Launching UPC Showdown was a bold move in a market dominated by giants like Sportsbet, which accounted for nearly half of Australia’s online wagering market in 2022.
The value of bets taken by Australian sports gambling companies each year has passed $50 billion in 2023, and Mr Halpin wants to dip his fingers in that lucrative pie.
“We plan to branch out into both NRL and AFL later in the season, there’s a big Footy tipping market in Australia and we aim to tap into that.”
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