Sports betting revenue jumps 15 pct in Australia

During fiscal year 16-17, the sports betting segment raked €653.8 million in revenue, a 15.3% increase year-on-year.

Australia.- Australian officials revealed that the sports betting market generated €653.8 million in revenue during fiscal year 16-17, a 15.3% increase year-on-year. The segment managed to perform way better than the previous year despite the gambling industry as a whole contracted by 0.5% during the same period.

According to the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office, bettors lost €14.6 billion in 2016-’17, off slightly from the previous year. The report also showed that Australians wagered €6.2 billion on sports during the fiscal year, about 5% of the €128.6 billion bet in total, while sports betting handle showed a 3.9% increase year-over-year, and the total handle grew less than 1%.

The industry managed to grow despite a government crackdown on the extension of credit to sports bettors and moves in several jurisdictions to increase gambling-related taxes. Said move even forced operator William Hill out of the country earlier this year and, according to experts, the legalisation of the segment in the US is expected to dwarf the Australian market as punters will no longer need to bet on foreign websites.