The Sun Bets enterprise will cease trading in the coming days, with Tabcorp set to make a £40 million payment to exit its UK betting joint-venture agreement which began in 2016.
Tabcorp Holdings today announced that it would pay News UK the eight-figure sum to exit the struggling joint venture.
The Australian gambling brand admitted last month to being in talks with News UK to exit Sun Bets.
Updating investors, David Attenborough Group Chief Executive of Tabcorp, stated: “The performance of Sun Bets has been below expectations and we do not expect a material improvement over the next 18 months. As such, we have reached an agreement with News UK to exit the agreement.
“While we didn’t get it right, we have taken valuable learnings from the Sun Bets start-up process and operations which will inform our approach across our portfolio”.
Tabcorp is expected to incur about AU$10 million in other closure-related costs in fiscal 2019.
News UK issued the following statement regarding the closure of Sun Bets: “The Sun is the number one newspaper and digital newsbrand in the UK and we have launched many successful brand extensions such as Sun Bingo and Dream Team.
“We are increasingly confident in the reach and power of the brand and will firmly remain in the betting and gaming business. We now look forward to executing our vision”.
