Tabcorp is starting to pick up the pace in the online gaming market, even as the listed heavyweight firms up as the favourite to pick up a wagering licence in Western Australia, to better fend off online-only rivals such as News Corp-backed Betr and Ladbrokes owner Entain.
Tabcorp chairman Bruce Akhurst told investors on Wednesday that the last financial year was the “line in the sand” for the company, adding that it was “was waiting with bated breath” to learn the fate of the WA wagering licence.
The state government’s preferred candidate Betr withdrew its bid at the 11th hour on Monday. The decision has left incumbent Tabcorp as the most likely winner despite it previously stating it was more concerned with growing its digital footprint than retail licences in states where it does not hold market share.
Tabcorp is hoping to regain some ground lost against its online-only rival bookmakers.Credit:Getty
Sources close to the matter told this masthead that Tabcorp’s bid was substantially lower than Betr’s. Tabcorp chief executive officer Adam Rytenskild has previously ruled out overpaying for retail licences.
A potential third contender, Entain, is also watching the proceedings closely but has also ruled out upping its bid. Tabcorp, Betr and Entain declined to comment on the state licence proceedings.
The latest numbers from Tabcorp, released on Wednesday, show its digital market share grew from 23.9 per cent to 24.7 per cent in the September quarter. It’s also sticking to its cost growth guidance of 3-4 per cent on last financial year for fiscal 2023.
Akhurst noted that Tabcorp had outperformed the market by more than 20 per cent since its demerger with The Lottery Corporation, completed in May this year.
“The hero metric we have adopted to measure our performance in our core wagering business is
digital revenue market share.” he said. The group recently acquired a 20 per cent stake in social-betting platform Dabble following the $62 million sale of eBet.
Tabcorp’s share price rose 2 per cent following the quarterly update and closed at 98.5c, 1 per cent higher.
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