iGaming Business – Casino operator Crown Resorts is set to increase its stake in online betting exchange Betfair’s Australian operations from 50% to 100%, according to Fairfax Media.
Betfair operates in Australia as a joint venture between Crown and Betfair, but the report said that the latter is keen to offload its Australian stake because the venture has been far less profitable than it had hoped.
Crown chairman James Packer is reportedly keen to complete a buy-out as the deal would secure 100% control of the company’s Tasmanian bookmaking licence.
Crown and Betfair declined to comment, but such an agreement would allow Crown to alter Betfair’s business model in the country and expand into the fixed-odds segment, the report added.
Packer was an early investor in online job marketplace Seek, but recently sold his stake in the company in order to acquire a shareholding in US online real estate classified site Zillow. He is also an investor in Australian online retail company Catch Group, which operates websites such as Catch of the Day and Scoopon.
