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The founders of Australia’s newest betting agency have breathed a sigh of relief after their daring promotional stunt to attract gamblers nearly failed.
Betr offered 100 to 1 odds on every horse in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday in what was considered one of the most daring marketing campaigns in recent memory.
The offer allowed bettors to place a $10 bet on any horse in the race with 100 to 1 odds – meaning a guaranteed return of $1010 if their horse wins.
The app has signed up thousands of new gamblers in hopes of closing the lucrative deal with many backing red hot favorite Deauville Legend.
Other bookmakers only offered a return of about $35 on a $10 bet if Deauville Legend would win.
But the betting start-up faced huge losses of up to $50 million if the horse ridden by Kerrin McEvoy made it to the 162nd Melbourne Cup, the AFR reported on Tuesday.
Australia’s newest betting agency, Betr, averted disaster after Gold Trip won the Melbourne Cup. Pictured is winning jockey Mark Zahra with his wife
The move sparked panic at Betr’s headquarters with frantic text messages sent to customers who grabbed the promo with the temptation of $150 in bonus bets and a refund of their $10 stake if they cancel the bet.
EXCLUSIVELY on your account. Secure a win with Deauville Legend,” the Betr text read begging to Melbourne Cup bettors who backed the favorite at 100/1.
‘Follow the steps below for Race One in Flemington tomorrow and you can cash out your Deauville Legend bet for $150 in Bonus Cash + your original stake refunded.’
Betr’s founder Matthew Tripp and his team would have had their hearts in their mouths as the race favorite threatened to take the lead in the final corner.
But race outsider Gold Trip got up front and stormed to victory.
Deauville Legend immediately faded into the house to finish fourth – helping Betr avert a financial disaster.
“Gold Tripp hahaha,” a relieved Betr employee texted his colleagues after the race.
Betr has come under fire from gamblers after it deactivated the accounts of Melbourne Cup winners instead of cashing out their $1000 windfall.
Tyler Chalwell told Daily Mail Australia that he received an exciting phone call from his wife Kelly that they were $1000 richer after backing the winner, only to discover that the betting agency had deactivated her account.
She’s “pretty p***** off.”
“We opened the account a few weeks ago when we had a few drinks with friends and family,” said Mr Chalwell.
“So my wife and some friends signed up while I was talking about the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup offerings.
“She chose Gold Trip in the account and her account was verified.”
Tyler Chalwell (right) told Daily Mail Australia that he received an exciting call from his wife Kelly (left) that her $10 bet on $100/1 Gold Trip won and they were $1000 richer
Ms Chalwell also backed Anamoe at odds of 21/1 – another betting offer for a bet of up to $10 – and was able to withdraw her winnings from that win.
“Today she saw Gold Trip won and she was excited but went to login and saw her account had been deactivated,” her husband said.
Just 23 minutes before the race started, she received an email saying; ‘Your betr account has been deactivated. You will not be able to access your account until you choose to activate it by sending an account activation request to cutomerservice@betr.com.au.”
Desperate attempts to contact Betr to reactivate her account were unsuccessful.
Others online have also voiced similar stories.
‘You are a joke, why am I deactivated. So angry,” commented one social media user.
“The same thing happened to my wife,” wrote another.
Betr’s daring marketing ploy to attract gamblers nearly backfired on Tuesday. Pictured are Melbourne Cup race goers in Flemington on Tuesday
In another lucrative twist, the chief executive of betting group Betmakers Technology Group, the company that provides the technology platform for Betr, also had a stake in Gold Trip.
Chief executive Todd Buckingham is co-owner of Gold Trip – meaning he has won money from his own horse and the company he runs.
While the company has undoubtedly saved millions winning Gold Trip, gambling industry sources confirmed that Betr chiefs have hedged some of their bets by placing bets on the favorite with rivals to try to minimize the damage.
Tabcorp is said to have assumed some of Betr’s liability when the company made an effort to prevent a disaster.
Gamblers could place a $10 bet on any horse in the race – including the favorite – with a guaranteed return of $1010 if their choice went on to win, a marketing ploy that almost backfired.
Betr, which is 33 percent owned by media giant News Corp, is now under investigation by gambling watchdogs in NSW.
“Liquor & Gaming NSW is deeply concerned that this advertising may constitute a prohibited inducement under NSW’s gambling laws,” the regulator said.
“In general, L&GNSW believes that an inducement includes any offer that may persuade or encourage a person to engage, or often participate, in a gambling activity, including opening a gambling account.
“We are investigating and will respond to any violations with the full force of the law.”
The investigation would also cost News Corp. after the newspapers ran ads for the offering nationwide, which also may have violated local state laws.
Over 80,000 race spectators (pictured) flocked to Flemington to watch the Gold Trip storm to victory in the 162nd Melbourne Cup
Betr was launched less than three weeks ago, in time for the racing spring carnival in a joint venture with bookie entrepreneur Matthew Tripp, who previously launched Sportsbet and BetEasy.
It is designed to leverage and leverage the reach and strength of broadcaster Foxtel and state newspapers to maximize betting potential, based on the successful Sky BET in the UK and FOX Bet in the US.
Betr launched with 60 employees and plans to quickly expand to 120 by targeting the lucrative market under 35.
It is currently said to be bidding for the $1 billion gambling rights license in Western Australia in a major investment and expansion.