Sportsbet owner expands from gambling into less-regulated 'rewards club'

Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of the prominent Australian gambling platform Sportsbet, is expanding into the "rewards club" industry with its new venture, Sportsdream Rewards. This move has sparked alarm among anti-gambling advocates who see it as a way to circumvent stringent gambling regulations.

Rewards clubs operate by using "trade promotions" as a legal loophole. These promotions allow for prize draws, often featuring substantial prizes like cars, cash, and luxury holidays, in exchange for a monthly membership fee. While these clubs are intended to promote a product or service, critics argue they have become the product themselves, functioning as unregulated lotteries.

Sportsdream Rewards promises members entries into draws for prizes such as a new 4WD or $100,000 cash, alongside rebates on sporting events and brand discounts. The industry claims to have distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to members. However, the connection between Sportsdream Rewards and Sportsbet is not transparently advertised, despite ASIC filings indicating that Free to Play Australia Pty Ltd, the operator of Sportsdream Rewards, is owned by Paddy Power, a subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment. Key executives from Sportsbet are listed as directors of Free to Play Australia, with the registered address at Sportsbet's Melbourne headquarters.

Gambling reform campaigners, like Tim Costello, express concern that these loosely regulated rewards clubs are being exploited to bypass gambling and self-exclusion laws. Flutter Entertainment stated that Sportsdream offers "access to curated offers from sports and lifestyle brands" and denied that data was shared between the two companies. However, the company did not explain why a separate entity was used to obscure the relationship between Sportsbet and Sportsdream Rewards.

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access to curated offers from sports and lifestyle brands, including discounts, exclusive deals, and rebates on sporting and live events