{"id":72205,"date":"2018-03-07T12:30:19","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T20:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=72205"},"modified":"2018-08-06T00:50:42","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T07:50:42","slug":"stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/","title":{"rendered":"Stars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market, Ups Stake in CrownBet to 80 Percent"},"content":{"rendered":"

PokerStars\u2019 parent company, the Stars Group, formerly Amaya Gaming, is suddenly a major player in the Australian sports betting market, just over six months after it was forced to pull PokerStars out of Australia due to a change in gambling laws.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Game Just Changed: CrownBet is likely to be rebranded BetStars, as the Stars Group increases its stake in the homegrown Australian bookmaker. As of Wednesday, CrownBet is now 80 percent Canadian. (Image: CrownBet)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having bought a controlling 62 percent interest in CrownBet last week<\/a> for $117.7 million, the Stars Group announced on Wednesday it will up its stake to 80 percent. In the meantime, the soon-to-be-combined company has agreed to acquire William Hill\u2019s Australian assets for $234 million.<\/p>\n

The new group will be the third-biggest sports betting company operating in the Australian market, after Tabcorp and Sportsbet.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, CrownBet<\/a>, which has always marketed itself as being the only homegrown commercial online sports book in Australia, will now have to confess to being 80 percent Canadian.<\/p>\n

PokerStars\u2019 Exit <\/strong><\/h2>\n

CrownBet was formed as a joint enterprise between James Packer\u2019s Crown Resorts and current CrownBet CEO Matthew Tripp\u2019s BetEzy. After selling out to the Stars Group, Crown Resorts permitted the company to continue using the Crown name in the short-term, but a rebrand will soon be necessary, and BetStars is surely a frontrunner.<\/p>\n

PokerStars exited the Australian market last August, thanks to a new amendment to the Gambling Act which clarified that only operators with Australian licenses were permitted to operate in the market.<\/p>\n

\n

Since Australia does not issue online poker licenses, just sports betting, the amendment essentially made online poker illegal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There is, however, an ongoing government review into whether online poker should be licensed and regulated. If this comes to fruition, the Stars Group\u2019s new standing in the sports betting market will put PokerStars in a strong position.<\/p>\n

Stars Group-William Hill Merger Fell Through<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Changes to the gambling laws were also behind William Hill\u2019s decision to offload its Australian division, specifically a ban on credit betting and the impending introduction of a point of consumption tax.<\/p>\n

In 2016, the Stars Group was in late-stage talks with William Hill over a \u2018merger of equals\u2019 until a William Hill shareholder revolt<\/a> scuttled the deal. Eighteen months on, the Stars Group has got its hands on a little piece of William Hill after all.<\/p>\n

“These acquisitions will further increase our exposure to the attractive regulated Australian sportsbook market and create a player of scale and clear rival to the top two operators there,” Stars Group Chief Executive Officer Rafi Ashkenazi said in the statement Tuesday.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWith complementary geographic profiles, we expect the combined business to leverage CrownBet\u2019s operating and proprietary technology platform and be well positioned for growth and to navigate the ongoing regulatory and taxation changes in the Australian market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PokerStars\u2019 parent company, the Stars Group, formerly Amaya Gaming, is suddenly a major player in the Australian sports betting market, just over six months after it was forced to pull PokerStars out of Australia due to a change in gambling laws. Having bought a controlling 62 percent interest in CrownBet last week for $117.7 million, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":72213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stars Group increases its stake in CrownBet following the announcement the enlraged company will buy William Hill\u2019s Australian operations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stars Group increases its stake in CrownBet following the announcement the enlraged company will buy William Hill\u2019s Australian operations.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-07T20:30:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-06T07:50:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/CROWN.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1352\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/\",\"name\":\"Stars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/CROWN.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-07T20:30:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-06T07:50:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Stars Group increases its stake in CrownBet following the announcement the enlraged company will buy William Hill\u2019s Australian operations.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/CROWN.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/CROWN.jpg\",\"width\":1352,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"The Game Just Changed: CrownBet is likely to be rebranded BetStars, as the Stars Group increases its stake in the homegrown Australian bookmaker. As of Wednesday, Crownbet is now 80 percent Canadian. (Image: CrownBet)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Commercial Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Stars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market, Ups Stake in CrownBet to 80 Percent\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\",\"name\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market","description":"Stars Group increases its stake in CrownBet following the announcement the enlraged company will buy William Hill\u2019s Australian operations.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market","og_description":"Stars Group increases its stake in CrownBet following the announcement the enlraged company will buy William Hill\u2019s Australian operations.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2018-03-07T20:30:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-06T07:50:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1352,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/CROWN.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Casino.org Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casino.org Staff Writer","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/","name":"Stars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/CROWN.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-07T20:30:19+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-06T07:50:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77"},"description":"Stars Group increases its stake in CrownBet following the announcement the enlraged company will buy William Hill\u2019s Australian operations.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/CROWN.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/CROWN.jpg","width":1352,"height":900,"caption":"The Game Just Changed: CrownBet is likely to be rebranded BetStars, as the Stars Group increases its stake in the homegrown Australian bookmaker. As of Wednesday, Crownbet is now 80 percent Canadian. (Image: CrownBet)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/stars-group-ups-stake-in-crownbet\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commercial Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Stars Group Makes Big Move for Australian Sports Betting Market, Ups Stake in CrownBet to 80 Percent"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77","name":"Casino.org Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Casino.org Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72205"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}