Ladbrokes launched a new Australian-facing website today after agreeing to buy the owner of the Bookmaker.com.au business for an initial AU$22.5m (£13m).
Today’s deal follows several years of the bookie circling acquisition targets down under, having kicked the tyres on Centrebet, acquired for £130m in 2011 by Sportingbet before the latter was bought by William Hill for £424m this year, and Tom Waterhouse, also taken over by its bitter rival last month.
The purchase of Bookmaker.com.au’s holding company Gaming Investments Pty Ltd (GIPL), expected to complete this week, also includes a 3,000-strong network of sports betting and racing affiliate websites, which Ladbrokes said helped drive efficient CPAs, and a mobile platform.
Bookmaker.com.au, only launched in February 2012, attracted wagers of around AU$400m in the last financial year to June. GIPL posted a small EBITDA loss, although Lads said it expected Ladbrokes Australia to generate a small profit in 2014. The bookie will also pay an earn-out based on its Australian division’s EBITDA in the year to June 2016.
Ladbrokes CEO Richard Glynn said the purchase of the “fast growing business” offered the bookie the chance to develop a strong presence in the territory.
Brisbane-based GIPL founder and CEO Dean Shannon will remain in post along with the senior management team, with oversight from Ladbrokes’ International and Group Strategy Director Damian Cope.
Ladbrokes will become the main brand for the business down under, “with existing brands continuing where appropriate”. Marketing for Ladbrokes.com.au will kick off with a campaign focused on the 65-day Spring Racing Carnival, climaxing with the Melbourne Cup on 5 November.
The retail and online bookmaker has chosen to follow the path of European rivals William Hill, Paddy Power and Unibet in entering the Australian online market by acquisition, rather than obtaining a licence in the Northern Territory and building from scratch, the route chosen by Bet365 and more recently Betfred.
As a late entrant, Bookmaker.com.au currently has negligible share of a fiercely competitive Australian sports betting market headed by land-based monopoly Tabcorp (22%), followed by William Hill-owned Sportingbet (21%), Paddy Power’s Sportsbet and IASBet (20%) and Tasmania-licensed Betfair (14%), according to figures from Nomura Equity Research.
Ladbrokes said today that the Panda Gaming Pty Ltd (PGPL) affiliate network of 3,000 domains which attracted 200,000 unique monthly visitors had “helped drive efficient cost per acquisition”, but did not provide any metrics. Rival William Hill’s share price dropped 7% following its H1 results last month when it revealed Sportingbet Australia was currently paying an average of £724 to acquire just one customer – more than double the prior year and seven times the UK average – for a return of just £312 per active bettor.
Article written by Peter Holmes
