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Titans
betting on bold new future, by Dan Koch - 1st
October 2008
(Credit:
The Australian)
The
search for new revenue streams within the NRL
took a major twist yesterday when the Gold Coast
Titans opened their own online betting agency.
A
joint venture with bookmaking firm Betezy, titansbet.com.au
is the first time an Australian sporting organisation
has entered the Northern Territory's growing corporate
bookmaking market, which will turn over more than
$4billion this financial year.
It
will offer online betting on horse racing, entertainment
and sport - including an NRL section, which will
be carefully governed by the league that gave
its approval yesterday.
News
of the deal comes just a week after grand finalist
Manly had a proposed sponsorship agreement with
Betchoice quashed by the NRL, due to the league's
agreement with Tabcorp.
With
the NRL already boasting deals with TAB Sportsbet
and Betfair, Titans chief executive Michael Searle
said this innovation was simply taking such arrangements
to a new level and increasing the return for the
club.
"At
a time when the game is looking for new and innovative
ways to inject fresh revenue streams, we see this
as a major move for our organisation,'' Searle
said.
"As
far as I am concerned, when you are speaking about
agreements with betting agencies, you can't be
half-pregnant. The game already receives significant
revenue from existing deals, we are just taking
those another step forward.
"I
am more than comfortable that the two arms can
operate successfully, independent of one another,
though obviously through the football club we
will actively seek to build the clientele base.''
Searle
said the club had been in discussions with NRL
chief executive David Gallop and his team for
more than six months before the guidelines of
the deal were approved.
In
a statement last night, the NRL said its approval
involved the Titans fulfilling numerous stringent
criteria including:
*
Titansbet partners signing a betting integrity
and product fee agreement similar to those between
the NRL and Tabcorp and Betfair.
*
The Titans demonstrating integrity safeguards
to ensure the football club complies with all
existing NRL rules binding players and officials,
ie no Titans employee would be allowed to bet
through the agency.
*
The NRL's right to prevent certain bet types as
it sees fit.
*
The Titans to have no exposure to the profit or
loss of any single rugby league event.
Gallop
said: "We believe the game is entitled to
greater access to information from bookmakers
to further protect the game's integrity and to
earn a fair share of the revenue generated from
our sport.
"We
have a relationship with TAB Sportsbet which is
based on these principles and it is important
that anyone who seeks to profit from the game
also observes them.
"While
we accept that sports betting is a reality and
that clubs are looking to build revenue streams,
we will retain the right to examine each proposal
on a case-by-case basis.''
Under
the agreement, markets on judiciary outcomes such
as Cameron Smith's grapple-tackle charge, which
so angered Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy, would
be banned.
It
is understood several other clubs are looking
at following the Titans' lead.
"It
is something we have had on our business plan
for a long time, expanding our brand vertically,''
Searle said.
"It
is obviously something different but we are a
new club with new ideas. We don't have the same
structure as a lot of the older clubs in the NRL,
who are backed by big leagues clubs.''
Searle
revealed the links with sports betting would force
an overhaul of the football club's policy in relation
to publishing injury lists and naming of teams.
To
ensure there is no appearance of impropriety,
Searle said coach John Cartwright would adopt
a far more transparent approach - similar to the
system in place in the NFL in the US, where clubs
can be fined and/or have players suspended should
they be seen to be misleading the public with
regards to the release of injury and team lists.
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