CrownBet

CWN own 62% of CrownBet and is one of the growth pillars  of future earnings. Pouring the money  in now to gain market share in a hotly contested online wagering space.

James Packer's Crown Resorts' online wagering business CrownBet is set to sign a groundbreaking partnership with Clubs NSW, which will see punters in pubs and clubs able to place bets online and end the TAB's monopoly on in-venue betting.
The deal signals Crown Resorts' latest big push into the online betting market, which Mr Packer told The Australian Financial Review was one of his main priorities for the year when he re-joined the Crown board in January.
An agreement with the clubs, which could be announced as early as Tuesday, is understood to involve the building of a special app for club patrons that will allow punters in venues to gamble on the Crownbet app.
The deal will come as a blow to rival Tabcorp, which has TAB outlets in pubs and clubs across the country and still relies heavily on bets placed by customers in retail outlets despite a big improvement in its digital wagering revenue in recent years.

It may even result in some clubs ditching TAB outlets and just offering online betting to customers via CrownBet.

Clubs in NSW will be given incentives to sign up members and will receive a commission on bets placed. The app will also tie in with the CrownBet rewards program, with points earned on bets able to be redeemed for offers at specific club venues and presumably at the Crown casino complex at Barangaroo when it opens in early 2021.
Clubs NSW represents about 1200 clubs with 6.7 million members across the state, with many having long been unhappy about the price Tabcorp charges for venues to have TAB outlets and carry its Sky Racing broadcasting service.
The move will involve considerable capital expenditure for CrownBet, including building the app and potentially helping improve Wi-Fi at clubs and install signage.
But CrownBet management is understood to see the move as part of a big push into NSW, with the wagering company having more customers in Victoria – it has a five-year sponsorship agreement with the AFL worth almost $10 million annually and also is a big advertiser on Racing Victoria and Seven West Media's Racing.com channel – and Western Australia.

The deal also strikes at Tabcorp's recent move to roll out its new program incentivising pubs, clubs and other venues that contain TAB outlets to sign up customers to bet via the company's digital apps.
Corporate bookmakers such as CrownBet have also complained about pending changes to the Interactive Gambling Act with the insertion of a measure they claim will easily allow the introduction of online in-play betting in TAB outlets and pubs and clubs around the country.
They argue it would hand Tabcorp and Tatts Group – which in October announced an $11.3 billion merger that will see the TAB brand replace Tatts' Ubet in Queensland and South Australia – a significant advantage by potentially being able to hand out tablets or smartphones and allow punters to bet in-play as long as they are inside a venue.
CrownBet is 62 per cent owned by Crown Resorts, with the remaining stake owned by CrownBet chief executive and former BRW Young Rich list member Matthew Tripp and several of his executives.

Mr Tripp is a former owner of Sportsbet, the biggest online bookmaker in Australia which he sold to Irish giant Paddy Power in 2011.