Lottoland Australia offers newsagents 20% of foreign lottery profits
Operator looks to get newsagents on side as it battles a potential ban Down Under
Lottoland Australia has offered newsagents a 20% commission rate on foreign lottery bets as the operator prepares to fight proposed legislation to ban lotto betting in the country.
Lottoland has reached out to 4,000 newsagents across Australia, all of which are set to lose out on key revenue if the federal government’s proposed ban is implemented according to the firm.
The operator is keen to persuade newsagents that a ban on foreign lottery betting will only serve to increase the market monopoly for Tabcorp’s Tatts Group, meaning independent news outlets will still lose business to the recently merged wagering giant.
Lottoland Australia CEO Luke Brill penned an open letter in Australia’s national newspapers attempting to win over newsagents following Tatts A$5m “Lottoland’s Gotta Go” campaign.
He wrote: “We want to partner with newsagents to provide our customers with greater choice, in a way that will be fair and profitable for your business.
“Last year, in discussions with the association that represents newsagents, we made an offer to share our revenue from secondary lottery betting with newsagents.
“That offer not only stands but I am prepared to improve it- we will offer newsagents a 20% commission on the profits from every bet they refer to Lottoland.
“Lottoland does not offer bets on Australian lotteries but only on overseas lotteries, which means we do not compete directly with newsagents.
“The challenging times faced by many newsagents relates in part to technology and in part to the way Tatts continues to push the digital sale of its products on their own website, taking revenue away from the newsagents.
“According to Tatts‘ figures, their digital sales increased by a massive 30% in the half year to December 31- money Tatts has diverted away from newsagents and other small businesses.”
Lottoland first appealed to newsagents in October by offering a 10% share of its online revenues, but the proposals were outright rejected by the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA).
However, attitudes might be changing after the Newsagents Association of NSW and ACT hit out at a proposed ban on online lottery betting last week, suggesting the legislation had gone too far.