Online bookmaker Betr is facing the largest promotional payout in Australian history after competition favorites the Penrith Panthers won the NRL grand final on Sunday night.
The massive AU$72 million (US$46 million) payout comes after a launch offer by Betr late last year in which it offered odds of 100-1 to new clients who could pick the winners of any of the NRL, AFL or NBA seasons, or of the FIFA World Cup or Melbourne Cup. Bets were capped at AU$10, however around 320,000 people took advantage of the offer and Penrith was by far the most popular bet.
Starting the 2023 NRL season as heavy favorites to win their third premiership in a row, the Panthers did just that on Sunday – coming from 16 points down midway through the second half to score a remarkable 26-24 victory.
Despite the impending AU$72 million payout, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Betr will still emerge as winners from the promotional offer, which proved hugely successful in luring customers. The bookmaker also hedged its bets via lay-off wagers and early payouts, according to Betr’s chairman, Matthew Tripp.
“The important thing to note, with that launch campaign, we had always anticipated it would cost us somewhere between AU$50 million and AU$80 million (US$32.2 million and US$51.5 million), depending on how the results fell,” Tripp told The SMH.
“But from the 320,000 customers we have acquired through running that campaign, the gross profit we have generated from those customers alone is AU$225 million (US$145 million).
“You still have to pay your taxes on gross profit and there is some generosity attached to that, but what has been generated in profit from those customers is almost three times what those hard costs were.
“To get 25% brand awareness before you even write one bet in our market, which we got straight away, it costs you AU$100 million (US$64.3 million) in marketing.
“So for us to have spent AU$72 million in hard costs, then probably another $20 million (US$12.9 million) in marketing, we spent just under $100 million to generate more than double that.”
Tripp also explained that Betr ultimately faced a payout of AU$20 million no matter who won last night’s grand final due to the way in which it had hedges its bets.
“The financial aspect is negligible on the day because we pay out a similar amount. The result doesn’t really matter,” he said.
