Starting from January 2024, Sportsbet, a Flutter-owned company, will begin a dynamic five-year partnership with Melbourne Racing Club (MRC). This collaboration covers MRC’s three leading racetracks – Caulfield, Mornington, and Sandown. A notable feature of this partnership is Sportsbet’s role as the naming rights partner for the esteemed Caulfield Cup Carnival and the Caulfield Cup itself.
Sportsbet and MRC share similar values and goals, particularly in attracting new fans to racing and broadening the sport’s appeal to a wider sports audience. They plan to achieve this through various channels, including digital platforms, marketing strategies, customer engagement, and on-site activations, especially during key racing seasons.
An impactful aspect of this partnership is Sportsbet’s commitment to donate $AU 125,000 annually to the MRC Foundation. This foundation represents MRC’s charitable activities, focusing on supporting local communities and aiding those involved in the racing industry.
This partnership aligns with the broader objectives of Flutter Group’s global sustainability strategy, the Positive Impact Plan, which seeks to enhance the lives of 10 million people by 2030. Sportsbet’s involvement in this initiative reflects their dedication to community betterment.
Key features of the partnership include:
Sportsbet CEO Barni Evans expressed excitement about the partnership, highlighting the shared ambition to attract new audiences and the pride in contributing to the MRC Foundation. He said:
“Sportsbet is excited to partner with the MRC, an incredibly successful and progressive Club, and we look forward to bringing to life our shared ambition of attracting new audiences to racing. We’re always looking to do more for the community and we’re particularly proud to be contributing $AU 125,000 each year of the partnership to the MRC Foundation, supporting local communities and helping racing industry participants.”
Josh Blanksby, CEO of Melbourne Racing Club, regarded the partnership as a landmark moment for the Club. He emphasized the potential to expose more audiences to racing, leveraging Sportsbet’s significant market presence, commenting:
“This is the most significant partnership in the Club’s history, and we’re thrilled to be working with Sportsbet, Australia’s largest wagering provider, to open up the sport to more audiences and futureproof racing on the sporting stage. We’re excited by the opportunities that partnering with a such an iconic brand in the sport and racing spaces presents, and we look forward to introducing a greater sporting audience to our racing product through Sportsbet’s impressive market share.”