Internet hoards sports betting in Australia

A UBS report reveals that nearly 65 percent of sports wagers in Australia were placed online during the second half of 2016.

Australia.- UBS analyst Matt Ryan released a report in which he estimates that two-thirds of Australia’s sports betting market went through online platforms. Nearly 65 percent of betting turnover in the last six months of last year came from desktop and mobile wagering.

According to Ryan’s report, digital turnover share was 23 percent higher in comparison with the same period from 2015. Results turned out to be remarkable since licensed operators had to suspend their online in-play sports betting services in September. In-play apps were really popular among bettors and, as reported by CalvinAyre, operators claim that in-play turnover had tripled following their apps’ launch.

Among apps, Sportsbet, owned by Paddy Power Betfair, tops the rest as it accounts for 31 percent of all downloads in the betting sector. Tabcorp comes in second at 20 percent and William Hill follows with 15.

Sportsbet, Hills, Ladbrokes and Bet365 tallied 65 percent of all betting app downloads. Ryan reported that there’s some correlation between iOS (Apple devices) app downloads and digital market share: “It may prove to be an indicator of revenue trends across operators and long-term sustainable digital market share,” he noted.