Merged Sportsbet-BetEasy entity to use digital advantage to poach rivals’ punters

Sportsbet CEO Barni Evans says a merged Sportsbet and BetEasy will ram home its digital wagering advantage over wounded rivals.

Sportsbet CEO Barni Evans. Sportsbet has merged with rival BetEasy. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

A merged Sportsbet and BetEasy will ram home its digital wagering advantage and take customers from wounded rivals who have lost punters from their closed outlets and pubs, the newly appointed boss of the combined business says.

Sportsbet chief executive Barni Evans officially took the helm of Sportsbet and BetEasy with the confirmation of the global merger of parent companies Flutter Entertainment and The Stars Group on Tuesday night.

Mr Evans told The Australian the combined business would retire the BetEasy brand by the time the Spring Racing Carnival commences in late August and would work quickly to integrate the two businesses, with a particular focus on technology and the migration of customers from BetEasy to the Sportsbet website and apps.

About 25 per cent of the combined 1200 staff across the two businesses -- though no plans have been formalised -- could lose their jobs and management will need to be integrated as BetEasy chief executive Andrew Menz joins the combined group. Existing sponsorship deals with the AFL, Racing.com and online streaming deals with Racing NSW could need renegotiating.

But on a broader scale, with almost all sports being shut down except for racing, the new Sportsbet would take advantage of its biggest competitor, Tabcorp, which was currently unable to take bets in pubs and clubs, Mr Evans told The Australian.

“When you do surveys and ask people who currently bet in retail (outlets) 60 per cent say they’d never contemplate online. You’d have to think with a pub or outlet shut they become available.

“So we are working really hard to make our product available to them in terms of offerings and merchandising that they would like, and making sure we have the types of bets that would appeal to a retail punter.”

Mr Evans said racing bets are up about 10 per cent during the COVID-19 shutdown and said racing authorities had done “an astonishing job” keeping the industry going.

Conversely, sports betting is down up to 90 per cent.

Sportsbet is the market leader in the $4bn Australian online betting industry with a share of about 25 per cent, while BetEasy has about 14 per cent. The merger leaves them jostling with Tabcorp for top position with punters, with Bet365 and Ladbrokes and Neds trailing well behind.

Globally, Australia accounts for about 15 per cent of the merged Flutter-Stars business. The pair had combined earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $300m in Australia last year.

“By virtue of combining our capabilities you’d expect us to do well, and we are complimentary to them and vice versa so you’d expect us to do better. They probably over-index in racing, and we probably over-index in sport.”

Mr Evans said BetEasy’s exclusive deal to stream NSW racing, stemming from it buying the local William Hill business in 2018, was particularly crucial as it gave its customers access to racing across Australia.

Bringing that on to the Sportsbet platform as well as sorting sponsorship deals such as the AFL — BetEasy currently pays $8m annually as its official wagering partner — will also be important.

“As much as possible we hope to make seamless transitions with them,” said Mr Evans.

“There may be change of control clauses though, so we need to get in there as soon as possible and try to get good outcomes and crack on with executing (the merger).”