Global bookmaker Bet365 has made a profit in Australia for the first time, after accumulating $128 million in losses over five years.
Accounts for its Australian operations lodged with the corporate regulator show Bet365 made a $1.2 million profit in the year to March 31, five years after the British giant moved into the competitive but lucrative Australian market.
Slightly more than $2.5 billion was wagered with the firm by Australian punters in its 2017 financial year, from which Bet365 received revenue of $101.4 million.
The firm's profit compared with a loss of $10.9 million in 2016 and $31 million the previous year. The online-only bookmaker has market share of at least 17 per cent in an online wagering sector now worth more than $20 billion annually.
Bet365's positive result was despite several measures that corporate bookmakers say will hit their profits hard and make their business less viable, including a mooted ban on television advertising during live sport, a point of consumption tax in South Australia and an end to credit betting.
Corporate bookmakers have also claimed the pending merger between Tabcorp and Tatts Group would create a behemoth in the Australian wagering market which would lessen competition.
Spent heavily
The firm has spent heavily on advertising in its five years in Australia, including an advertising campaign built around Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson. Its 2017 accounts revealed it had spent $24 million on marketing during the year, a similar figure to 2016.
Like other foreign-owned online and phone betting only corporate bookmakers, Bet365 has poured tens of millions into marketing and customer acquisition strategies in an effort to win market share from online wagering competitors such as Sportsbet, William Hill Australia, Crownbet and Ladbrokes, as well as established operators Tabcorp and Tatts Group's Ubet.
"Year-on-year customer numbers increased, continuing the trend of previous years," the Bet365 accounts said. "[This supports] the directors' view that the company will remain profitable and, therefore, continue to deliver a positive financial contribution to the group.
"The directors remain confident of improving future financial performance of the company and are committed to maintaining the present level of operations to support that aim."
Full-year results
Bet365 obtained an Australian bookmaking licence in February 2011 in the Northern Territory and began taking bets in Australia 2012. It is owned by its British parent company Bet365, which is majority owned and run by Denise Coates, who Forbes estimates is worth $US4.1 billion ($5.1 billion).
The firm's 2016 account revealed its Australian operations still owe its parent company and owners more than $133 million in loans.
Bet365 also bore about $25 million in "levy expenses", or the amount it pays to horse racing and sporting bodies for the right to wager, in 2017, down slightly from $26 million last year.
Tabcorp and Crown Resorts, which owns 62 per cent of CrownBet, will report their full-year 2017 results on Friday, while William Hill and Ladbrokes will reveal their global results including Australia for the six months to June during the week.
