Tabcorps to enter the UK

Australia’s biggest bookmaker joins forces with the Sun newspaper to enter the British online gambling market.

Australia.- Tabcorp and the Sun closed an agreement and will be launching Sun Bets in six months. The Australian bookmaker will provide the gambling platform and products while News UK will make the promotion of the joint venture through its titles. Under this agreement, Tabcorp will provide News UK with a share of the revenue from Sun Bets.

UK is one of the most competitive online gambling markets with revenues of £3bn ((US$ 4.24 bn) a year and 427 licensed operators.

“It is a natural step for us,” says David Attenborough, Tabcorp’s chief executive. “We have worked with News Ltd closely in Australia and built up a high degree of trust. They have one of the strongest brands in the UK with half of the UK betting population regularly reading or engaging with The Sun.”

“The Sun newspaper in the UK has significant readership and is targeted at the C2DE demographic (working classes). It is an excellent platform for a wagering operation,” wrote Mark Bryan, analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.