Titanic Move into Sports Betting

It's a high-wire act but there are windfall profits to be made from online sports betting. The Gold Coast Titans, an Australian National Rugby League club, have entered into a joint venture with a bookmaking agency - Betezy. The move came as a shock to NRL aficionados, but the green light has been given. The NRL doesn't have its own agency, so it receives around 5% of proceeds from TAB Sportsbet on all NRL league betting.

The rewards
CEO of Gold Coast Titans, Michael Searle, is convinced that this bold initiative will be the cash-cow his club has been searching for. Many of the objections to this initiative stem from the potential corruption and malfeasance that could take place in the sporting world. Searle believes that if he can tap into the lucrative gambling market, then the NRL stands to benefit tremendously. The football club and its charitable unit - the GCTCF (Gold Coast Titans Community Foundation) - will reap rewards and that's basically half the profits from their own website.

Multiple clubs have signaled their desire to team up with bookmaking agencies. The revenue streams are simply too high to ignore and clubs like Manly and Melbourne Storm are considering such propositions. Manly CEO Grant Mayer was quoted saying he would consider the notion after the grand final.

Conditions
Titans CEO Michael Searle has agreed to sign a betting integrity and product fee agreement. These moves are steps to safeguard the integrity of the game and its players. With a $4 billion betting windfall in the Northern Territory alone, many clubs are eager to claim their piece of the pie.