Australian bookmakers’ spending on ads during televised sporting broadcasts rose nearly one-quarter in the first half of 2016.
On Wednesday, The Australian quoted Nielsen data showing bookies spending AUD 125m (US $95.8m) on adverts shown during sporting telecasts in H1. The figure, which doesn’t include pay-TV channels, is nearly 25% higher than the same point last year.
Paddy Power Betfair subsidiary Sportsbet led all spenders with over $38m, up nearly one-fifth year-on-year. The next closest competitors, Ladbrokes and CrownBet, spent about $20m apiece, while domestic mainstays Tabcorp and Tatts were well back of the pack at $18m and $8m, respectively.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon is attempting to wean networks off their gambling ad dependency by pushing a scheme that would reduce broadcasters’ license fees to make up the shortfall caused by a ban on gambling adverts. However, terrestrial TV industry bodies have argued that the fee reductions would be insufficient to get the networks on board with Xenophon’s plan.
WILLIAM HILL DOUBLES DOWN ON IN-PLAY
Meanwhile, William Hill Australia has just rolled out its new Double Down ‘in play’ race betting feature. The new tool, timed for the upcoming Spring Carnival, allows punters to double the value of their wager – at a cost of 10% of their original stake – with a single tap after the jump at pre-race fixed odds.
Hills CMO Warren Hebard is confident that Double Down will give his firm’s InPlay app the edge in the fierce battle for Spring Carnival punters. Hebard claimed the new feature is one that “no other bookmaker can or will offer and typifies the mentality of the William Hill brand.”
Double Down appears to run counter to the Northern Territory Racing Commission’s recent edict requiring licensees to shut down their in-play betting apps by September 7 to comply with federal in-play betting prohibitions. But a Hills spokesperson said Double Down raised “no issues or concerns” with existing Aussie betting laws.
Doubling down on this belief, Hills has launched a new integrated campaign to promote Double Down ahead of the Spring Carnival. The spots (sample viewable below), are the product of creative agency Fenton Stephens and production company The Pound.
