Bonus bet offers peak as online agencies chase Cup day dollars

THE big online betting companies are throwing cash in the hundreds at those just signing up to bet with them in race for punter dollars.

All bets are on: Australians are expected to outlay $140 million on the Melbourne Cup. Picture: Michael Klein

BY mid-morning, the offers were flying thick and fast: “$100 bonus bet,” one trumpeted. “Melbourne Cup special, deposit $10 to get $100,” said another.

“New customers first bet matched up to $100 in bonus bets,”; “If your horse runs second or third get up to $25 back; “We’ll match your first bet up to $501”, the barrage continued.

The chase for punters’ betting dollars, on the biggest day’s racing in Australia was about to hit its peak, and the online sports betting companies were throwing everything at it.

Australians are the biggest gamblers in the world, and sports betting is the fastest-growing segment of the racing industry.

So with an estimated $140 million to be dropped on this year’s Cup alone, online and mobile betting companies want a piece of the action.

Eager to welcome new punters into the fold, they throw ‘bonus bets”, “concessions” and “refunds” of up to hundreds of dollars to new recruits.

Generous? Maybe. Hard to resist? Yes, for some.

Legal? Yes, that too.

But given that Australians bet $7.1 billion and lost almost $815 million last year, an increase of 30 per cent, on sports betting, according to the latest Australian Gambling Statistics report, punters don’t seem to be winning the race.

Sports betting is tipped to overtake poker machines as the biggest form of gambling in Australia in just over ten years.

Which explains why punters are bombarded with advertisements, enticements and emails and texts offering the latest bonuses from businesses including Racebet, Sportsbet, William Hill, Luxbet, Unibet, Crownbet and Ladbrokes.

A simple google search “bet Melbourne Cup” today provided offers for rookies, and the already-converted.

State betting laws mean the offers don’t apply, or differ, in different Australian states.

For newbies, signing up takes a matter of minutes, and comes with the added hook of being able to bet with their money as well as yours. For the already converted (disclosure: I am among them), there were similar deals — if your horse didn’t win selected races, but finished or second or third, you’d get a betting credit. There were also ‘bonus bets’ to let you play with their money. The list goes on.

Growth in sports betting has been driven largely by online access. The key, is convenience.

It’s no longer a drama if you’re too lazy to dash to the TAB. You can have the bet on your phone. And because there’s no physical act of handing over cash, it seems to hurt less when you lose.

It’s all done in the hope you’ll make placing a bet a more regular habit.

Gambling researcher Dr Charles Livingston says the growth in sports betting is “really directly attributable to the massive marketing and advertising campaigns that the online bookies have been engaging in the last few years”.

“And certainly the advent of smart phones and their big take up among young people has fuelled this growth,” he told the ABC.

One long-time user of a number of the sites, and a semi-professional punter, said the advertising and incentives barrage is similar to the experience in the UK.

“When the industry was building there, the enticements offers were insane, but they are back down to the equivalent of about $45 now,” he said.

And while punters might have the occasionally win, he said the big betting agencies aren’t losing out on the deal.

Conditions apply. The offers come with restrictions.

Betting in on the act: Some of the offers available for Cup Day.

“There are restrictions on the offers. For a start they aren’t available in everywhere in Australia, dues to different gambling laws in each state,” he said.

“Also, some of the agencies only pay out the winning portion of a bonus bet — if you have $100 on a horse using “their” money, and it wins and pays $150, you only get the $50 win portion. And many have restrictions that you can’t take those winnings automatically, you have to “turn the winnings over” for another bet.

“They’re hoping you’ll make your betting a more regular habit, and eventually they’ll take your money, not theirs.

“The thing is, it’s always your choice to have that bet in the first place.”

Supporters argue that it takes a consenting adult to place a bet, but critics say the “normalisation” of sports betting continues to be a concern.

One expert called for parents to use the Melbourne Cup as an opportunity to talk with their kids about the risks of gambling in the wake of Melbourne researchers finding children as young as eight can reel off the names of multiple bookmakers after being bombarded with gambling ads during sport and horse racing coverage.

“Sometimes when kids see promotions for gambling products such as cashback or refund offers it creates a perception that gambling is risk-free and that you can’t lose,” Deakin University public health Associate Professor Samantha Thomas told AAP.

“That’s obviously not the case.”

Perhaps the best tips remain: Only bet what you’re prepared to lose; and there’s no such thing as a free ride.