William Hill targets pro punters after relaunching Centrebet.com

January 4, 2017 4:25 pm.by Todd Davey

TWO weeks after its mysterious re-emergence, online bookmaker William Hill has announced the official relaunch of Centrebet.com.

TomWaterhouse.com.au – which was subsequently purchased by William Hill – absorbed and shutdown Centrebet back in 2014, but astute observers noticed the domain was back up and running late last year, leading many gambling experts to theorise that a re-branding could be in the works.

It took them a while, but William Hill finally came out and confirmed online bookmaking’s worst kept secret.

William Hill Australia announced on Wednesday that they are officially relaunching Centrebet.com as a premium service which will offer punters the highest available limits on Australian metropolitan horse racing and major sporting events, as well as a guarantee to provide the best fixed odds available.

You asked for it, here it is. The best offering on Australian and worldwide sports with POWER BET. pic.twitter.com/yfzjgwFPiX

— Centrebet (@CentrebetAU) January 3, 2017

CEO of William Hill Tom Waterhouse believes Centrebet.com will entice big-time punters to utilise their service.

This is a great day for the Australian punter and for betting.” Waterhouse said.

“Centrebet is the only option for all punters who want the best price and the only place the professionals can get a big bet on.”

Centrebet is throwing its weight behind their thoroughbred enthusiasts who are keen to invest all around the country, not just in NSW and Victoria.

The relaunched company is committing to bet all punters to win $5,000 on Saturday and $2,500 on midweek metropolitan horse racing, which is guaranteeing higher limits and a minimum bet on all states racing, not just Victoria and NSW.

The minimum bet laws at present compel bookmakers to accept bets to win $2,000 on metropolitan horse racing in NSW and Victoria only, meaning Centrebet are putting up over double the amount of their competitors.

In addition to their best odds claims, Centrebet is making a commitment to look after the high-rollers of the punting industry.

Any punter that has had their accounts closed by the other Australian bookmakers will not be restricted from opening up an account at Centrebet.

Professional punter Kingsley Bartholomew said the targeting the more seasoned wagerers was a shrewd move from William Hill.

“Centrebet is the only bookmaker of choice for the dedicated punter.” Bartholomew said.

“Their odds are the best in the market, and they take on winners including myself without closing accounts. Anyone serious about their wagering has to bet with Centrebet”.

Centrebet.com

Our take – was this relaunch a necessary move by William Hill?

On the surface, the William Hill relaunch of Centrebet.com makes sense – committing to offering the best fixed odds markets as well as allowing punters who have been banned by other bookmakers the opportunity to open up a new account.

But was using Centrebet the right way to go about it?

Despite having a decent online presence three years ago, Centrebet is hardly the recognisable name that punters will be attracted to, nor will it prick the ears up of the seasoned professionals who are deep in the industry.

Our best bet is a concerted advertising campaign based around letting punters know Centrebet is the place to go for the heavy-hitters of the punting world to sign up at is their method of attack. The site infrastructure was already there, so setting up the system would have been a walk in the park.

Is it going to be worth it in the long run? If we had to have a bet, it certainly would not be on Centrebet.

The idea of catering to the professional is a novel one in Australia, but ultimately doomed to fail if it is not supported by big wagerers, but this is a free-swing for William Hill – they either come out of this decision looking like geniuses or they pack up and move on.