TabCorp is one of Australia’s biggest poker machine and betting operators, and now the company is taking its business overseas. According to iGamingBusiness, TabCorp will be launching a new betting business in the UK with The Sun. The agreement was announced in December 2015, when the two companies stated that they would be working together on a betting partnership.
Now, TabCorp and The Sun have announced a launch date for the service, which will begin taking bets in Spring 2016. TabCorp has worked with news providers in the past. So, this is familiar territory for the Australian gaming operator. The main difference will be the market in which the betting service will operate.
The UK gaming industry is quite different to Australia’s, so there are likely to be some distinct challenges for this new business. “It is a natural step for us; we have worked with News Ltd. closely in Australia and built up a high degree of trust,” says David Attenborough, Chief Executive of TabCorp. “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 two parties have entered into a 10-year revenue sharing agreement. TabCorp will operate the wagering service while The Sun will be responsible for the internal and external promotion of the business.
Attenborough continues: “This partnership provides us with the opportunity to create a leading online bookmaker in the UK market under the Sun Bets brand over the coming years and fits with our strategy of pursuing close-to-core international opportunities.”
This is an exciting opportunity for TabCorp, as the company makes its way into the international market. It will be following in the footsteps of other Australian-based operators like Aristocrat and Ainsworth, which have expanded overseas with great success.