Bookmaker faces largest payout in sports gambling history
Online bookmaker Betr may have to hand over tens of millions of dollars to Australian punters if favourites Penrith Panthers win the NRL Grand Final this weekend.
Tens of thousands of Australians have been sitting on potentially lucrative 100-1 bets on the Panthers for almost a year.
They were placed during Betr’s launch promotion and sources estimate the Panthers payout could top $40 million, a figure the wagering industry reckons would be the largest single payout in the history of Australian sports gambling.
Brian To’o helped the Panthers to a fourth straight grand final. Getty
The start-up led by entrepreneur Matt Tripp offered new users a $10 bet at 100-1 odds on five different events. Hundreds of thousands of people signed up, placing the bets on the AFL, NRL, NBA, Melbourne Cup and soccer World Cup.
The most popular was for Penrith Panthers to win the 2023 premiership – its third in a row. If the Panthers win against the Brisbane Broncos on Sunday night, Betr will be handing over $1000 to more than 40,000 people.
Then there is the AFL Grand Final. Others used the wager to bet on the Collingwood Magpies, who were one of a group of favourites to win the 2023 flag. Collingwood takes on the Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Saturday.
The company has spent the better part of this year trying to get those who held the grand final bets to cash out, offering them hundreds of dollars and vouchers.
On Friday, Betr emailed those who still held them, warning them it could take up to a week to deliver the money into accounts.
The Panthers have dominated for the entirety of the NRL season, leading to Betr taking measures to hedge the potential losses.
Sport and racing bookmakers who have a large exposure to a particular outcome try
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