Inside Asian Gaming

IAG NOV 2022年11月 亞博匯 94 26-50 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Sportsbet 行政總裁 Sportsbet CLAIMS TO FAME 名成事跡 POWER SCORE 權能指數: 738 POSITION LAST YEAR 去年排名: 33 Former marketing executive at UK betting giant Paddy Power Has positioned Sportsbet as clear No.1 ahead of Tabcorp in Australia’s competitive sports betting landscape 英國博彩巨擘Paddy Power的前營銷主管 令Sportsbet在澳洲體育博彩領域中明顯領先於Tabcorp成為第一 BARNI EVANS 28 IT ONCE SEEMED inconceivable that anyone could claim more market share across the Australian sports betting landscape than Tabcorp. Yet, buoyed by a favorable regulatory regime that has allowed them to invest far more into marketing than Tabcorp, industry disrupter Sportsbet has done just that. Led by former Paddy Power executive Barni Evans, the UK- owned Sportsbet has gone from strength to strength since its 2020 merger with BetEasy, with revenue rising from US$618 million in 2019 to US$1.48 billion in 2020 and US$1.72 billion in 2021. This, the company said, was enough to see it claim 50% market share – attributing its success to impressive player acquisition during the COVID-19 pandemic. There promises to be some challenges ahead, however. In order to level the playing field, state governments in three states and territories – Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory – recently announced increases to the Point of Consumption tax charged on corporate bookmakers, with Sportsbet’s parent company Flutter Entertainment estimating this will cost an additional US$27 million in 2022 and US$89 million in 2023. How Evans – who has served more than 10 years with Sportsbet including the last four as CEO – responds to this new hurdle could well determine whether his firm’s rise continues. 如果 有人說在澳洲的體育博彩領域中有公司可以擊敗Tabcorp獲得更多市 場份額，可能會被認為是妄言。然而，在有利的監管製度的支持下，行業 顛覆者Sportsbet已然做到這一點。他們在營銷方面的投資已經遠超Tab- corp。 在Paddy Power公司前高管Barni Evans的領導下，母公司為英國公 司的Sportsbet自2020年與BetEasy合併以來便不斷發展壯大，收入從 2019年的6.18億美元增至2020年的14.8億美元及2021年的17.2億美元。 該公司表示，這足以令其獲得約五成的市場份額，並認為可歸功於疫 情期間卓有成效的吸引玩家舉措。 當然，該公司未來亦面臨挑戰。為了公平競爭，昆士蘭州、新州和 澳洲首都領地等三地政府近期宣佈，提高對企業博彩公司的消費稅。而 Sportsbet的母公司Flutter Entertainment預計，這將令其在2022年和 2023年分別增加2700萬美元和8900萬美元成本。 Evans在Sportsbet任職超過10年，並在過去4年間擔任行政總裁。 他如何應對這一新障礙，或很大程度上將影響他的公司是否會繼續崛起。