Tatts Group to invest further in digital future
Australian operator looking to capitalise on digital wagering and lotteries growth in FY14 with new platform "close to launching"
Australian operator Tatts Group said it plans to continue investing in its digital business with a new online platform “close to launching”, after recording strong growth in its digital wagering and lotteries businesses throughout the 12 months ended 30 June.
The firm’s 2014 financial year saw digital wagers grow 14% to approximately AU$147.1m, or 23% of total wagering revenue with the World Cup having provided a substantial boost as sports betting turnover soared 18%.
Online lottery sales grew 8% year-on-year to $187.3m, 9% of total lottery sales, up from 8% the online channel delivered last year.
While Tatts did not break down turnover derived from mobile devices during the period, it did reveal that a new betting app launched earlier this year had been downloaded a total of 332,000 times.
And Tatts Group CEO and managing director Robbie Cooke said the firm was looking to build on its online growth through further investment, with a new online platform and website in the pipeline.
Cooke revealed the firm had recently doubled the size of its online team to 52 in order to expedite the launch of the new wagering site which is said to be “close to launching”.
“We have invested heavily in FY14 in both the resourcing and up-skilling our digital team. We have doubled our online resources and expansion of the digital team will be a continuing feature given the importance of this channel to our future,” Cooke said.
Yesterday Tatts Group unveiled a new brand identity after collaborating with creative agency Hulsbosch and the new brand is set to feature heavily in an advertising campaign to promote the new website, with Cooke stating the new marketing drive to cause an increase in marketing spend over the forthcoming year.
“The investment we are making in our wagering business to drive growth will bring a further small contraction in our wagering EBITDA margin,” Cooke said. “Our focus remains on repositioning our wagering business for growth and capturing the sales momentum considered available in our markets.”