IPTV helps Australia boost online betting boom

The Australian obsession with sport has swiftly translated into a boom time for online betting with digital wagering company Sportsbet emerging as the fastest growing online bookmaker the country. Based on total bets placed in 2013, Sportsbet has come up in front of competitors Tabcorp and Tatts Group and other digital only sites like Bet365 and Betfair.

"Our Australian business is hotter than centre court at an Aussie Open," Sportsbet has said of its performance.

With around 500 staff, the fast growing operation has implemented the most adept IPTV systems to amplify the business and streamline access to data, which is at the heart of optimum betting. As Sportsbet is democratic in its opportunity to bet on anything from the Melbourne Cup winner to the next James Bond or who will win Big Brother, access to the primary resource of TV is essential.

Sportsbet researchers, statisticians, data analysts and bookmakers need continuous access to all information flows as they happen.  As such Sportsbet’s gaming room and trading operators have access to multiple screens connected to direct feeds to all specific broadcast media resources. This  includes news and sports channels from Foxtel, ABC services, Seven network services, Nine network services, Ten network services and SBS services.

CombiTel has provided the IPTV platform that distributes the broadcast channel content across multiple workstations and projection systems. The platform includes Omniscreen OMM modular IPTV headend (incorporating digital terrestrial receivers and MPEG encoders), Amino H140 commercial HDTV set-top boxes and Omniscreen Pilot software.

The Omniscreen Pilot software is an Australian product, which was created by the engineers from CombiTel Group. This product development team is based in Melbourne and was spun off under the Omniscreen brand in 2011.  

Omniscreen Pilot (which can also be delivered as a hardware appliance), is responsible for all smart features of the Sportsbet deployment such as scheduling, grouping/zoning, user management, and other innovations. Which has justified the deployment of enterprise IPTV instead of a conventional MATV equipment. Pilot is a versatile entertainment, information, and digital signage solution, which can be customised to most enterprise requirements.

“Any enterprise TV deployment should address the business needs of an organisation in the first instance and not simply follow the IP-based delivery trend” says Eugene Razbash, CombiTel Group MD. “We always ensure that our proposed solution adds value to our customer’s business operations whether is it direct savings, operational efficiency, or new capabilities, which are not available with other solutions.”