Australia

Exclusive Q & A with Marc Edwards, CEO of ORDER

Published

5 years ago

May 27, 2021

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Q. Congratulations on joining ORDER as the new CEO! What are your early reactions to the job?

A. It is an exciting time to join the organisation. I had been working for ORDER in a consultancy capacity for 6 months prior to joining as CEO, so the transition has been relatively seamless. My early impressions are full of opportunity and growth. The industry is forging ahead and receiving a lot of attention from mainstream media and non-endemic brands looking to be involved in the space, and with ORDER being a first mover in esports and now 4 years later is well established, we are looking forward to this next stage of our evolution.

Q. Do you find heading an Esports team much different than leading an organization in traditional sports or motor sports, where you had spent most of your career?

A. There are a lot of similarities with the support structure of esports and traditional sports, especially when it comes to fostering a culture of high performance and professionalism. And now as we look ahead, player welfare and grass roots programs are firmly on the agenda to ensure we are both looking after our professional players, but also playing a role as a leader in the industry to provide pathways for the next generation of talent. If we look at the commercial side of the industry there are certainly some parallels to draw with sponsorship, brand activations and fan engagement and how these are delivered to offer the best value to brands. The real difference in this area of the business is the ability to innovate and execute on new ideas without the constraint of governing or league bodies. Further, we also see the customer facing area of our business as a far more creative than traditional sports – more along the lines of a music label. Essentially our talent, who are professional gamers and content creators, are at the core and the support crew we build around them to bring this to life are creatives, e.g. content managers, creative directors, digital marketers and brand builders.

Q. For the outside world, Australia, where ORDER is based, is known for its outdoor sports. How is esports catching up in the country? How does its popularity compare with that of traditional sports?

A. Traditional sports are fed by generations of participation and ultimately viewership. Right now the esports industry in Australia is no more than 5 years old, yet despite the lack of history and level of unfamiliarity the fan base has more than doubled in the past 2 years alone. With the majority of esports fans being in the 18 to 34 age bracket and skewing male, there has been a natural migration of fans from traditional sport into esports, which is a sign of how Australia’s deep passion for sport is changing. Esports provides this generation an alternative outlet for entertainment and it’s being supported big time. While the current audience base skews male there is a ground swell of engagement coming from the female audience and is being driven by women gamers increasingly turning professional.

Q. ORDER has recently raised a $5.3 million funding? What are the immediate plans to drive the growth?

A. We will solidify our position in Oceania esports while continuing to look at opportunities in other esports titles. The real growth for ORDER though will be in content creation and production and building an audience around our brand. To do that we are looking for content creators across multiple platforms and gaming influencers who will become part of the ORDER crew and benefit from our administrative support and enabled to continue to grow their current activities. Also, in a first for an esports organisation the region, earlier this year ORDER took residency at our new facility in Collingwood Melbourne, which will feature the Alienware esports high performance room, Logitech streaming room, production studio and administrative offices.

Q. Could you talk about the new diversification initiatives that are in pipeline?

A. Outside of what I have mentioned above, ORDER will continue to evolve our gaming production capabilities, with a bespoke offering across events and licensed content. We are also looking towards collaborations with creatives and artists across music, fashion, and art. We see gaming as aligning strongly with the future of pop culture and these pursuits have paved the way for gaming to move from a subculture to pop culture in its own right.

Q. It appears that the lock down forced by the Covid 19 pandemic has turned out to be a turning point for esports in general. How did it affect the growth of ORDER?

A. For ORDER, and most esports organisations, the events of the last year or so have put greater emphasis on the need for online event capability, content production and building a mass audience. While much of this growth is still in it’s infancy, the realignment of strategy in the early stage of 2020 provided us a long enough runway to start executing and importantly secure significant funding to accelerate our growth ambitions.

Australia

BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API

Published

5 days ago

December 9, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: < 1 minute

BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API

BetMakers Technology Group is pleased to announce the successful launch of its new partnership with Kiron Interactive, a global leader in virtual sports and number games. Kiron’s full suite of virtual horse racing, greyhound racing, and harness racing content is now fully integrated and available through the BetMakers CoreAPI.

The completed integration enables BetMakers’ global network of wagering operators to activate Kiron’s market-leading virtual racing content directly within their existing BetMakers setup. This delivers high-frequency, always-on racing products that complement live racing, enhance customer engagement, and drive incremental turnover.

“Kiron has built a reputation as a world-class provider of virtual racing content, and we’re excited to bring their high-quality, high-frequency products directly to our operator network,” said Joey Carroll, Director of Business Development & Partnerships at BetMakers. “With the integration now live, our partners can switch on virtual racing immediately and seamlessly expand their racing offering across all three codes.”

Steven Spartinos, Co-CEO at Kiron Interactive added: “Kiron’s focus has always been to give operators content that fits the way people play today. Virtual racing delivers fast, session-based entertainment that complements the live schedule and keeps audiences connected on their own terms. Integrating with BetMakers opens that experience to a broader network through a single, streamlined API. It strengthens our reach and gives operators a practical way to grow their racing portfolio with reliable, always available content.”

With virtual racing now available via a single, modern API alongside BetMakers’ global racing content, fixed-odds pricing, and tote solutions, operators can offer an even more comprehensive racing experience without any additional platform complexity.

Operators interested in enabling virtual racing can contact their BetMakers Account Manager for activation details.

The post BetMakers and Kiron Interactive Launch Virtual Racing Through the BetMakers API appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Australia

BetMakers Signs Multi-Year Agreement to Launch CrownBet

Published

6 days ago

December 8, 2025

Niji Narayan

betmakers-signs-multi-year-agreement-to-launch-crownbet

Reading Time: 2 minutes

BetMakers Technology Group Ltd announced that it has entered into an exclusive five-year agreement with Betfair Australia (Betfair) as the sole technology provider for the launch of the premium Australian wagering brand CrownBet.

Highlights:

• BetMakers signed an exclusive five-year technology and services agreement with Betfair to deliver a full wagering stack for the development of CrownBet.

• BetMakers to supply its complete end-to-end solution, including a fully customised deployment of the Apollo wagering platform, trading and risk services, a content engine and the core Apollo technology.

• The agreement marks the most significant commercial milestone for the Apollo products and establishes a Tier-1 strategic partnership with Betfair, part of the Crown Resorts group.

• Commercial terms include a hybrid of fixed fees and revenue share, designed to expand recurring revenue and align BetMakers’ with the long-term success of CrownBet.

• CrownBet is targeting to launch in Q1 CY26, with platform activation and compliance workstreams already underway.

Under the agreement, BetMakers will deliver its full wagering stack for CrownBet, including a fully customised deployment of the Company’s Apollo wagering platform, trading and risk management, content engine and core platform technology. The end-to-end solution positions BetMakers as the technology and operational backbone of the CrownBet offering from launch.

The partnership represents the most significant commercial milestone to date for the Apollo platform and further validates BetMakers’ strategy to provide a complete, vertically integrated B2B wagering solution to Tier-1 operators globally. The agreement also establishes a landmark alignment with Betfair and its parent company, Crown Resorts – one of Australia’s most recognised entertainment and hospitality groups.

The agreement contains customary terms and conditions for a contract of this nature, including with respect to termination.

BetMakers COO, Martin Tripp, said: “This partnership is a major endorsement of our end-to-end B2B strategy and a milestone for the Apollo platform. To be selected by Betfair to power the return of CrownBet demonstrates the scalability, performance and commercial flexibility of our technology stack. By combining our Apollo platform with deep industry expertise and talent within Betfair, we are confident we can deliver a market-leading wagering experience and help to position CrownBet as a formidable player in the Australian market.”

Amy Zavros, CEO of Betfair, added: “Betfair is evolving to meet the changing needs of Australian customers by introducing a new fixed odds product under the CrownBet brand and required a technology partner capable of delivering a top tier product from day one. Following a rigorous RFI and evaluation process, BetMakers was the clear choice. Their technology, trading and services capability provides the foundation we need to bring CrownBet to market at the intended scale and complement our Betfair betting exchange, giving customers greater choice, value and innovation. The launch of CrownBet is targeted for early 2026.”

The post BetMakers Signs Multi-Year Agreement to Launch CrownBet appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Australia

BNDRY Announced as the Next Innovation to Feature at Pitch! – Regulating the Game 2026 Sydney

Published

1 week ago

December 5, 2025

Niji Narayan

bndry-announced-as-the-next-innovation-to-feature-at-pitch!-–-regulating-the-game-2026-sydney

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Pitch! @RTG is designed to surface transformative ideas — a crucible where technology meets real-world regulatory challenges, where compliance is re-engineered for purpose, and where new approaches to governance and sector leadership are tested in front of regulators, operators and innovators.

BNDRY exemplifies this mission. As pubs and clubs come under heightened scrutiny under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act, BNDRY has partnered with Cherryhub to deliver a compliance platform purpose-built for the operational realities of hospitality venues. Rather than retrofitting systems designed for banks, BNDRY and Cherryhub have engineered a solution for gaming floors, member-based venues and mixed-cash environments.

Many venues grapple with fragmented systems and the complexity of monitoring both carded and uncarded play. BNDRY and Cherryhub tackle this head-on. The platform integrates gaming machine data, member and visitor profiles, and frontline observational inputs into a single operational dashboard — providing clarity and automation where venues have long struggled.

The platform streamlines and automates the core AML/CTF obligations that pubs and clubs need to do continuously:

• Knowing members, visitors and staff

• Monitoring behaviour and transactions to detect anomalies

• Reporting to AUSTRAC

• Securely storing compliance records for seven years.

This new approach bridges the gap between bank-grade compliance capability and the fast-paced, people-driven realities of pubs and clubs — offering a scalable, auditable and future-ready solution as regulatory expectations continue to rise.

“BNDRY is a standout example of the practical innovation Pitch! was built to spotlight. Pitch! exists to surface the RegTech, policy and research innovations the sector often doesn’t know are out there — a crucible where ideas, technology and regulatory practice are tested and refined. That mix of capability and imagination is exactly what will strengthen regulatory outcomes and uplift the sector,” said Paul Newson, Principal at Vanguard Overwatch and founder of Regulating the Game.

“Australia’s pubs and clubs are facing financial crime risks and compliance expectations unlike anything before, and AUSTRAC’s focus on the sector is only intensifying. Venues need solutions built for their operational realities — not repurposed bank tech — which is why we built BNDRY. Through our partnership with Cherryhub, we’re integrating data from multiple systems, reconciling player activity, and automating the heavy lifting, to make AML/CTF compliance operationally achievable while showing what’s possible when purpose-built technology meets real-world challenges,” said John Rayment, CEO of BNDRY.

The post BNDRY Announced as the Next Innovation to Feature at Pitch! – Regulating the Game 2026 Sydney appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.