Australian betting operator Tabcorp has entered into a multi-year sponsorship deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
On Tuesday, Tabcorp announced that its TAB.com.au betting brand was now the Official Betting and Wagering Partner of the UFC in Australia. The partnership will make its official debut in Melbourne on Nov. 27 at UFC Fight Night: Rockhold v. Jacare 2.
The deal makes TAB.com.au the presenting sponsor of all UFC live events in Australia. The UFC’s famous octagon will feature Tab.com.au branding and UFC fighters will wear the betting brand’s logo on their fight kit. TAB.com.au will also get plenty of visibility on UFC.com and other UFC digital and social platforms.
Things are decidedly less sunny at the New Zealand TAB (no relation), which had its betting website crash on Saturday. The TAB is still investigating the cause of the crash, but overloading is the prime suspect, given the day marked the busiest day to date of the current racing season.
New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB) general manager of customers Gary Woodham told the New Zealand Herald that the TAB was “working with our website vendors to investigate the root cause” but suggested that “a great day’s racing combined with a massive Pick6 and miserable weather” meant more people were stuck at home wagering online.
All well and good, but punters have increased reason to fear that they’ll be unable to successfully place their wagers with the TAB anytime there’s heavier than usual betting traffic. The TAB already eliminated its phone betting service, leaving stay-at-home punters with no fallback position.
The situation is even more galling given that the NZRB actively lobbied the government to reduce punters’ ability to access international online betting sites. They might want to give the TAB site some big boy pants before they try to bite off more than they can chew.
