As the deadline looms for bookmaker Betr to complete its final payout of now-infamous 100-1 launch odds on a string of sporting events, the inducement is a sore spot with its former investor News Corp, despite a lack of financial exposure.
However, after this story was first published, a Betr executive confirmed that News Corp sold its stake in the fledgling company just four months after it launched.Last week, Betr founder and Melbourne Storm chair Matthew Tripp toldthe betting firm was in the market for deals, including a long-touted buyout of PointsBet’s local operations, having turned a “modest profit” in recent months.
The wagering group launched in October 2022 as a joint venture between News Corp, Tripp’s investment vehicle TGW and Las Vegas-based Tekkorp. Tripp and his investors – the identities of whom Betr has not revealed – have owned all the company since News Corp sold down its stake in February. It’s believed Tekkorp was not allowed to remain in the consortium after being unable to fund its launch obligations.
“We had always anticipated [the launch] would cost us somewhere between $50 million and $80 million, depending on how the results fell,” Tripp said.