Australia

Live horse racing data giants agree landmark merger

Published

10 months ago

January 31, 2024

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Total Performance Data and tripleSdata have come together to create the world’s largest automated distributor of live horse racing performance data to racecourses, stakeholders, bookmakers, media and racing fans.

Under the terms of the deal, TPD and tSd will become a merged entity. The merger will result in the combined company supplying live and post-race performance data from over 100 racetracks in 11 different countries, 365 days a year. Amongst the 5000+ race days tracked will be many of racing’s most valuable and notable races including the $150 million of prize money at The Breeders’ Cup, The Saudi Cup, The Dubai World Cup, The Everest, The Melbourne Cup, Royal Ascot, The Pegasus, St Leger, The US Triple Crown and much more.

Racing fans will be able to access the live and post-race tracking data to contextualise the performances of the world’s leading thoroughbreds. Additionally, TPD’s unique automated in-play odds can be made available for all racecourses across the world providing fans the ability to bet on these prestigious events after the off.

Crucial to TPD’s success has been the long-term vision to create new revenue streams for racecourses. With over £50 million now bet on their in-play odds, this is now a reality. Entain, Sky Bet, William Hill, Bet Victor and Boylesports all leverage the fully automated and neural network inspired live odds.

tSd’s founders Carlos Santo and Sebastian Scholz will join TPD’s Board and assist with day-to-day management of a team of over 40 people globally. With offices in London and Sydney, Brad Higgins will drive APAC sales, while John McBroom will lead the global sales effort. More talent is set to be added to existing teams of engineers, data scientists, machine learning and AI experts and a new sensor fusion division specialising in computer vision to further enhance the next generation of racing insights.

Will Duff Gordon, CEO of TPD, commented: “We are extremely pleased to welcome the passionate and determined tripleSdata team to create a global champion of racehorse tracking and revenue generation. We are aware that today’s consolidated bookmakers seek the maximum amount of product from each partner, and we’re pleased to add three more countries of top class racing to the existing eight.

“The scale of the combined company unlocks the level of investment and expertise that racing needs to tell its story through advanced data. The effort to bring live racing from 12 time zones across 11 countries on five continents for 24/7 live action is testament to the partnerships built by TPD and tSd with the likes of Arena Racing Company, Equibase, Sky Sports Racing, At The Races, Emirates Racing Authority, Ascot, Australian Turf Club, Racing New South Wales, Racing Queensland, Racing Victoria, Racing South Australia, Singapore and Auckland Thoroughbred Racing.

“As with all industries and sports, the sport of horse racing is having to compete hard for attention. TPD and its racecourse partners share a vision that the tracking content can make the sport more appealing, and in the process make betting more fun. With multiple updates per second on speed, position and stride the goal remains to lift the lid on how horses run in order to engage a new generation of data hungry sports fans. We are confident this deal goes a long way to achieving that goal.”

Carlos Santo, CEO of tSd commented: “This merger brings together two visionary companies dedicated to pushing the boundaries of possibilities through technology and poised to unlock new opportunities and expand our product offerings.

“This marks the beginning of an exciting journey. Together, we will continue to innovate, adapt, and thrive in an ever-evolving landscape, delivering unmatched data solutions and experiences to our customers and stakeholders in the racing and wagering industries.”

Sebastian Scholz, CTO of tSd commented: “We are thrilled about this landmark merger and eagerly anticipate the incorporation of the two development teams from Total Performance Data and tripleSdata.

“This merger is not just a joining of forces; it’s a catalyst for ground-breaking product development. We are poised for significant growth, aiming to expand our teams in the realms of artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud-based applications, equine welfare, sensor fusion, computer vision, in-play betting, and graphics applications.”

TPD Chairman, Eamonn Wilmott, commented: “In over 40 years of doing M&A deals, I have to say this was one of the most obvious fits I’ve ever seen.

“Carlos and Sebastian have built an amazing company, and we are delighted to join forces together. They care passionately about the future of racing, and we will all work together to help drive maximum revenues back into the sport. From the very first conversations through negotiations and due diligence they have been an absolute pleasure to work with and we are all extremely excited about the future we can now build together.”

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Australia

Secretlab partners with Fluent Commerce for Order Management

Published

24 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Secretlab, the leading international ergonomic furniture specialist brand, is partnering with Fluent Commerce to enhance global digital operations – scaling its Order Management System with Fluent Order Management.

Established in 2014, Secretlab has rapidly emerged as an international ergonomic furniture specialist brand with over 3 million users worldwide. With a strong emphasis on quality and ergonomics, Secretlab’s chairs have garnered immense popularity among both gamers and professionals, solidifying themselves as leaders in modern ergonomics.

Secretlab is scaling its Order Management System (OMS) to support its growth and enhance customer experience globally. Fluent Order Management processes inventory data at unprecedented levels to provide complete inventory visibility and accuracy.

“It’s great to see an innovative company like Secretlab choose Fluent Order Management,” said Graham Jackson, CEO, Fluent Commerce. “Fluent Commerce has a track record for delivering enduring value to global retailers and our modern and scalable technology will set Secretlab up for long-term success,” Jackson adds.

Fluent Order Management is used by leading global retailers including JD Sports, L’Oréal, Prada Group, Aldo Group, LVMH, Dulux and Kingfisher. Most recently, Munro Footwear chose Fluent Order Management to enhance inventory management globally.

One of the key solutions offered by Fluent Commerce, Fluent Big Inventory, addresses the challenge of real-time, accurate inventory visibility across all channels and locations in a retailer’s business. It optimises massive sets of inventory data quickly, to provide accurate inventory data that helps reduce overselling and cancelled orders, and out-of-stock online.

Australia

ACMA: Tabcorp Pays $262,000 Penalty for Illegal In-Play Bets

Published

5 days ago

November 15, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Tabcorp Holdings Limited (Tabcorp) has paid a $262,920 penalty for taking online in-play sports bets, which is illegal in Australia.

An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation found Tabcorp accepted 854 in-play bets across 69 tennis matches between April and October 2023.

Online in-play betting—wagers made on a sporting event after it has commenced—is prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

Authority member Carolyn Lidgerwood said the ban on online in-play betting is in place to protect vulnerable people.

“In-play betting increases access to gambling opportunities and exacerbates the risks of gambling harm, as people can place bets with high frequency on multiple outcomes during sporting events,” Ms Lidgerwood said.

“There has been significant growth in online sports betting in recent years and it’s important all online wagering services have systems in place so that illegal in-play bets are not accepted.”

During the investigation Tabcorp reported that the breaches occurred due to a technical “bug” in its systems. While the error first occurred in April 2023, it was not fixed until October 2023.

“Tabcorp is a major wagering operator and it is concerning that it took some 6 months for the system error to be identified and fixed,” Ms Lidgerwood said.

In addition to paying the $262,920 penalty, Tabcorp has also advised the ACMA of controls it now has in place and future steps it will be taking to minimise the risk of online in-play bets being accepted.

In its consideration of this matter the ACMA also took into account that Tabcorp had voided all bets so consumers did not suffer any loss and Tabcorp did not profit from the errors.

Tabcorp was previously issued a formal warning by the ACMA in November 2021 for accepting in-play bets on a United States college basketball game.

Australia

AUSTRAC and Pacific Financial Intelligence Units Gather in Brisbane to Tackle Financial Crime in the Region

Published

6 days ago

November 14, 2024

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Identifying ways to combat serious financial crime is the key focus when financial intelligence units (FIUs) from across the Pacific meet in Brisbane.

Representatives from 13 Pacific nations are gathering for the Pacific Financial Intelligence Community (PFIC) plenary, which is hosted by AUSTRAC.

The three-day event, which is now going on, provides a valuable opportunity for FIUs to further explore initiatives to fight financial crime. These include joint operations, intelligence sharing, capacity-building activities and region-wide technological enhancements.

Since last year’s meeting in the Cook Islands, PFIC members have focused their efforts on combating transnational organised crime, corruption and child sexual exploitation. AUSTRAC has worked with FIUs to ensure they have the training and capabilities required to proactively identify and tackle these crimes.

As well as ongoing themes such as money laundering, this year’s meeting will also address emerging issues such as illicit use of cryptocurrency, new payment platforms and gambling in the region.

AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said PFIC is a good example of the value strong regional partnerships bring to combating money laundering and other serious financial crime.

“As Australia’s financial intelligence unit, we’re not just focused on ensuring the security of Australia’s financial system, we also have a key role to play in working with our neighbours to combat the harms posed by criminal networks across the region,” Mr Thomas said.

“To put it into perspective, behind each of these crimes are people who are left devastated by the impacts of online scams, child sexual exploitation, environmental crimes or drug trafficking.

“PFIC was established by AUSTRAC and other regional partners in 2021 to promote greater collaboration among Pacific FIUs, and we’re so proud of the outcomes it’s already delivered.”

The Head of the Cook Islands FIU and outgoing Co-Chair of the PFIC, Mr Walter Henry, said he’s honoured to have played a leading role in PFIC over the last two years.

“Serious financial crime affects all of our nations, so we must work together to combat threats which undermine our financial security and community safety,” Mr Henry said.

“The PFIC has proven to be a vital channel for sharing intelligence, for working on capability enhancements and for staying across emerging threats and developments in technology.”

The Attorney-General will address the conference, to speak about Australia’s commitment to building strong regional partnerships to combat transnational financial crime, and ongoing efforts to strengthen Australia’s anti-money laundering system.

Representatives from the financial intelligence units of Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu will be in attendance.

AUSTRAC is the permanent Co-Chair of the forum. The Head of the Fiji FIU is scheduled to take on the rotating Co-Chair position at the end of this plenary meeting.