Crownbet’s Matthew Tripp says site will turn a profit in 2016

Crownbet, the upstart Australian online betting site formerly known as BetEzy/BetEasy, turned the corner toward profitability late last year, according to its CEO and founder Matthew Tripp (pictured).

The Northern Territory-licensed Crownbet is 62% owned by Australian casino operator Crown Resorts, which reported a A$9.2m loss for its online operations in the six months ending Dec. 31. But this includes Betfair Australasia as well as the new DGN Games social gaming acquisition and Crown doesn’t break out individual numbers for its digital components.

In an interview with the Australian Financial Review this week, Tripp claimed Crownbet “broke even on a monthly basis” in November and managed to sustain this breakeven pace in the three months that followed. Tripp now expects the site to post a profit through the rest of 2016, which is “ahead of where we thought we would be” when the site launched in September 2014.

Tripp credited the performance in part to a decision to rein in television advertising spending. However, Tripp is looking at plowing some of those savings into National Rugby League and soccer sponsorships – to go along with its AFL league sponsorship – in order to boost the company’s profile beyond its native Victoria.