Published
OnlineSports BettingIndustry

PointsBet rejects US$153m offer from News Corp consortium

PointsBet has rejected an AU$220m (US$153.2m) offer for its Australian division from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and digital wagering pioneer Matthew Tripp.

news points
Listen To Article

As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, the bookmaker’s board - led by former UBS banker Brett Paton - turned down a non-binding indicative offer from the News Corp Australia-led consortium around two weeks ago, with the offer not put to shareholders.

That is according to wagering industry sources, who spoke anonymously due to the confidential nature of the talks.

Along with his son Lachlan, Murdoch controls a multi-billion global media empire which includes the Fox News Channel in the US, the Foxtel pay-TV business in Australia, and a number of global and local newspapers such as The Australian.

But the family also has a small wagering presence through ownership of racing sites Racenet and Punters.com. They formalised a partnership with Tripp - who grew Sportsbet into Australia’s second-largest bookmaker and established BetEasy before selling it to Canadian company The Stars Group - earlier this year.

News Corp is still expected to launch an online wagering business at some stage in 2022, having already appointed former BetEasy boss Andrew Menz as its Chief Executive.

The PointsBet rejection is not expected to change the launch of the new company or its bookmaking licence, but it would have given the business scale, and means that it will not have a large customer base upon launch.

PointsBet Canada earlier this week announced a new partnership with golf club owner and operator ClubLink, following its entrance into the Ontario sports betting market in April.

Premium+ Connections
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium Connections
Consultancy
Executive Profiles
Scientific Games
Esportes Gaming Brasil
LeoVegas
Kalshi
Follow Us

Taking stock: Counting on crypto

Gambling Insider tracks the value of the biggest cryptocurre...

In focus: MiFinity

A trusted payments partner for the iGaming industry....

Panel: LatAm and crypto lead the way

During the SBC Summit Americas in Florida, executives from N...

In focus: Spayz.io

Payments that actually work for iGaming operators…...

A welcome from your host

A message from the Founder of the Global Gaming Awards and G...

From the Lead Partner

A message from BetConstruct - Lead Partner of the Global Gam...

The year in review

The Event Manager of the Global Gaming Awards reviews the mo...

Casino Operator of the Year 2025

We present to you the 2025 Shortlist for the Casino Operator...