While there has been no official confirmation from CrownBet that they intend to rebrand as Sportingbet, they filed a registration with ASIC to trade as Sportingbet this month.
The battle over the renaming of CrownBet to Sportingbet is set to go to the Federal Court in July, with Sportsbet filing an objection against the use of the name.
The Sportingbet brand was put on hiatus by William Hill back in 2015 but CrownBet acquired William Hill’s Australian business in March and need to find a new brand.
Crown Resorts had previously been a shareholder of the CrownBet business but sold out ahead of CrownBet’s acquisition by the Canadian-based The Stars Group.
CrownBet’s intention to use the Sportingbet brand has drawn the ire of its biggest rival Sportsbet, who claim the brand is too similar to their own, which has been in use in Australia for well over a decade.
To confuse the matter even more, CrownBet’s CEO Matt Tripp is the former CEO of Sportsbet, before selling the business to Irish giant Paddy Power back in 2013. And Sportsbet was the major competitor with CrownBet in the acquisition of William Hill Australia.
Legal publication Lawyerly has reported that Sportsbet filed a statement of claims last week seeking a Federal Court hearing into their objection over the use of the Sportingbet brand.
Sportsbet has asked for an injunction against the use of the name, with a Federal Court hearing reportedly set for July.
Source: GMB / Punters.com.au
