Two senior News Corporation executives who sat on the board of new wagering start-up Betr have quietly walked away from their positions, casting doubt on the state of the relationship between the Rupert Murdoch controlled-media company and its latest joint venture.
Documents filed with the financial regulator show News Corp’s national executive editor, Peter Blunden, and managing director of the group’s consumer division, Mark Reinke, ceased their board duties on March 9, less than six months after Betr famously launched with 100-1 odds on the Melbourne Cup, 2022 A-League final and 2023 NRL grand final.
The departures mean Betr is operating with two directors – UK-based Benjamin Shaw and the group’s founder Matthew Tripp – and company secretary Trent Whitney, who formerly worked with Tripp as chief financial officer of BetEasy and Crown Bet. People familiar with the exits, who spoke anonymously because the details weren’t finalised, say Betr is the process of reconfiguring its board to account for new investors.
The start-up is expected to make an announcement in the coming weeks. Betr launched in October as a joint-venture between News Corporation (known in ASIC filings as Nationwide News), Tripp’s investment vehicle TGW and Las Vegas group Tekkorp last September
But media and investment banking circles have repeatedly raised concerns with this masthead about its long-term future since the latest News Corp’s results were revealed, where chief financial officer Susan Panuccio said she did not expect the multimillion-dollar equity loss caused by Betr to be “the run rate going forward”.
The exits of Reinke and Blunden have coincided with Betr’s attempts to secure funding and acquire the Australian business of rival wagering group PointsBet, which recently enlisted financial services firm Barrenjoey.
