Since going public, Betfair has been in the eye of the scornful public more times than an England footballer during a World Cup year. Their appeal against the Australian District Court’s ruling in favour of Racing NSW will likely arrive shortly, but there’s another Aussie sport institution taking solace in Racing NSW’s court victory.
The NRL is the premier rugby league competition Down Under and as such sees a large amount of gambling activity around their sport. It’s also true that like most institutions in the world they are admirers of money. The Federal Court’s ruling for racing will, if not overturned, see between AUS$50-60million put back into the sport by bookmakers, and this is the pie NRL are attracted to.
After his side signed a $1million, two-year deal with Centrebet, Manly Sea Eagles chairman Scott Penn told ABC News that he believes money from sports betting will become a significant revenue stream for NRL clubs in years to come.
“Given rugby league is the second most wagered on sport we have high hopes that rugby league will receive their fair share in the future. This would be a significant and a great financial boost to all clubs,” said Penn.
Now that NRL have climbed aboard this bandwagon I’m sure they can’t wait to be joined by Kangaroo racing, Koala baiting, and Armadillo fighting.
