The Australian division of UK bookmakers Ladbrokes has signed on as sponsor of the National Rugby League’s Gold Coast Titans.
On Wednesday, Ladbrokes Australia announced it had inked a deal under which its logo would appear on the sleeves and lower back of the Titans’ official jerseys. The deal takes effect this Sunday when the team kicks off the 2016 Telstra Premiership season against the Newcastle Knights.
Titans CEO Graham Annesley (pictured, on the left) celebrated the fact that his team had inked such a prominent partnership with a brand that is “older than the game of rugby league itself.” Ladbrokes Australia marketing maven Simon Jarvis (on the right) didn’t take offence at being called dead old, saying only that the Queensland-based firm was “delighted” to associate its brand with a local sporting icon like the Titans, which has yet to have a cocaine-related scandal (this season).
In addition to its new sponsorship, Ladbrokes Australia also chose this week to roll out its new Odds Boost feature, which allows Lads customers a daily opportunity to improve the odds on any racing market of their choice.
Odds Boost, which is available across desktop and mobile platforms, allows punters to enhance the price of any horse or greyhound market at the touch of a button. The feature allows punters to wager up to AU $1k on a boosted market and the option is refreshed every day at midnight.
Ladbrokes Australia CEO Dean Shannon said the fact that Odds Boost could be applied to any racing market – not just those preselected by the bookie – would further differentiate Lads offering from those of other Aussie sports betting operators. Shannon said Odds Boost gave Lads punters “full control” and was therefore a perfect fit with the company’s Bet Better philosophy.
Kris Robinson, the company’s head of product, said Odds Boost would eventually be expanded to sports and novelty betting markets. The company acknowledged that the feature could prove popular with arbitragers but said it had employed systems to guard against abuse and would close any account found to be acting “outside the spirit of acceptable use.”
