The Australian sports betting landscape continues to evolve with the news that UK operator Star Sports has received its Victorian Wagering and Betting Licence to allow it to launch down under.
Star Sports has been part of the UK wagering scene since 1999 and they are now looking to broaden their reach with the launch here in Australia with plans for a strong on-course presence as well as online offerings.
Well known racing identity, Shane Ciurleo (pictured), has been appointed as the Star Sports General Manager in Australia.
Ben Keith, Owner of Star Sports, spoke on the Australian expansion:
“I am thrilled to be launching our Star Sports brand in Australia. With Shane at the helm, I have the utmost confidence in the team down under. It was a lifelong ambition to trade at the prestigious Melbourne Cup and with great thanks to the Waterhouse family, it became a reality last year. We at Star Sports believe in bookmaking and are very excited to begin operating in Australia.”
Shane Ciurleo also commented on the launch:
“I feel very fortunate to be given the opportunity to bring the Star Sports brand to life in Australia. Ben Keith and his team have built and maintained a wonderful brand in the UK, and I look forward to introducing the Australian market to the Star Sports brand ethos and values.”
While a number of smaller Australian sports betting sites have closed their doors recently, Ciurleo believes that Star Sports can avoid some of the mistakes of other operations.
“We're a pretty lean organisation. We have a wonderful tech platform backing us at Punters Tech. It enables us to be a reasonably lean operating model. We believe that'll give us the opportunity to go on-course and do those things a little bit differently.”
We’ll have more details in our Star Sports review shortly, but early reports are that punters should enjoy many of their unique features including AI-generated form guides and race analysis on their website.
