What BlueBet and Betr merger could mean for punters

We are less than a month away from the merger of Australian bookmakers Betr and BlueBet – but what can punters expect?

The bookies have been struggling of late (as much as they can in Australia) with tougher entry restrictions and a surplus of competition. Currently, there are over 150 licensed bookmakers in Australia – yet many have come offline of late, or have been bought out by other bookies.

This year alone we have seen around a dozen online betting sites retreat back to the rails, including Southern Cross Bet and PuntersPal who closed their doors in April, and were pioneers of online betting in Australia.

However, Betr and BlueBet will be a different story. ASX-listed BlueBet and the very ambitious Betr are hardly going to fade into the distance, but are more focused on joining forces and rattling the heavyweight internationally owned betting sites that nearly have the monopoly of online betting in Australia, including Ladbrokes, Bet365 and Sportsbet.

Betr became a household name when they offered their 100-1 odds on several events when launching back in 2022, including the Melbourne Cup. This attractive offer mainly lured in punters claiming the promotional offer themselves, but also many who acted on behalf of their family and friends and were looking to abuse betting site promotions. The end result for Betr (besides the massive losses they had to foot) was a strong player base of over 112k active punters, from the 300k+ that initially signed up.

Enter BlueBet, who only has 6,700 active players, but has superior software. Many of the early Betr adopters had complaints of a slow and clunky app, slow withdrawal times and lack of customer support. All of which left a sour taste in many punters’ mouths, and they disregarded the betting site. Once the Betr/BlueBet merger is complete and they are happy that punters will be fully satisfied with their product, there will likely be something compelling to try out the new platform so that punters will allow them to give themselves a second “first impression”.

Considering Betr received the largest fine to a gambling operator due to offering inducements when they were very public about their 100-1 odds, it is unlikely it will be as broadcasted, but for any punter who follows the promotions, they will definitely be one to keep an eye on.