Sports betting sites in Australia continue to plough millions into TV, radio and print advertising despite the bookie Tom Waterhouse promising to curb his spending.
Rewind to March and Australian bookie Tom Waterhouse was all over the sports betting news after his impromptu appearances during Channel Nine’s coverage of National Rugby League matches, resulted in a stream of protests from the egg chasers.
The outcry prompted Waterhouse to issue an apology that was published in the Daily Telegraph in which he said he was ‘sorry’ for the controversy caused, that he had ‘listened’ to the public, and had spoken to the TV network to ‘dramatically cut back on my advertising from tonight.”
Strange then that according to Nielsen data, Tom Waterhouse has spent more money on advertising than any other bookmaker in the country, with a reported $9.6m being spent on an assorted combination of advertising in the past 12-months.
In total, Australian sports betting sites spent a combined total of $50m, with the large majority of that money being directed at the TV channels coverage of the NRL and AFL matches. TattsBet spent $3.6m and Unibet and Bet365 also chipped in with $3.1m a piece.
September and October are the busiest sporting months in Australia and the sports betting sites pile on the pressure in the hope of luring more punters to their sites. 2,179m viewers watched the Sydney Roosters beat the Sea Eagles 26-18 in the NRL Grand Final on Sunday, dominating the X Factor who drew in 1,246m viewers. The AFL Grand Final, which took place on, Sep 28th pulled in 2,717m viewers.
Despite rule changes to stop bookmakers updating live odds during gameplay, paid advertising for sports betting – the fastest growing form of gambling in Australia – is still acceptable and continues to grow.
It’s not just TV advertising that’s pulling in the dollar. Glenda Wynyard of Chaos Media told the Australian that twice as much advertising is being spent on club sponsorships, branding and signage.
William Hill recently acquired Tom Waterhouse in a deal potentially worth A$110m, and it remains to be seen if the trend will continue under new ownership.
