Some links relevant to the Murdochs and gambling
December 8, 2020
Here are some links tracking the history of the Murdochs and the gambling industry.
Timeline of Murdochs and gambling
2005: Tony Blair deregulates the UK gambling industry after direct lobbying by the Murdoch interests, allowing Sky Betting and Gaming to flourish.
August 2016: News Corp's SunBets joint venture with Tabcorp in the UK goes live.
October 2016: News Corp buys Australian gambling website punter.com.au - see Mumbrella.
April 2018: Canada's The Stars group pays $US4.7 billion for Sky Betting and Gaming which was 20% owned by Sky Plc.
July 2018: Tabcorp terminates Sun Bets JV with News Corp in the UK losing more than $100 million after being forced to pay News a 39.5m pound exit payment.
May 2019: Fox Corp and The Stars Group announced FoxBet JV in the US with Fox subscribing to a $US236m placement in The Stars Group at $US16.44 a share to secure a 5% stake in the company. See announcement.
Nov 2019: Murdochs downplay animal cruelty issues around Melbourne Cup - see Crikey story.
May 5, 2020: Flutter formally takes over The Stars Group issuing 0.2253 Flutter shares for each Stars Group share, leaving Fox Corp with 3.2335 million shares in Flutter.
June 2020: Flutter raises $US1 billion in a placement at $US124 with Lachlan Murdoch quoted saying Fox was increasing its investment in the company.
June 2020: Sportsbet caught up in controversy over Masterchef betting - see this Crikey piece with lots of background on Murdoch gambling investments.
Dec 2020: Fox Corp takes up its 2.6% entitlement in $A1.8 billion placement at $US188 a share to help fund Flutter's $US4.2 billion purchase of an additional 35% stake in FanDuel. See Crikey piece.
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