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Media Man Group Blog: News
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Murdoch’s betting play is about to fall apart - July 2023
As Lachlan Murdoch would know, his family’s fondness for gambling is popularly attributed to his great-grandfather Rupert Greene, who was so unsuccessful at it that his friends secured him a job as race starter at Flemington racecourse for 31 years, a job which barred him from betting on horses.
Lachlan’s own form as a punter is still undetermined.
Next month he and his father Rupert face a make-or-break decision on Fox Bet, Lachlan’s attempt to break into the lucrative online betting industry.
A year ago, News Corp was pouring money into Betr, its joint start-up with gaming entrepreneur Matthew Tripp. The key to this transaction was the plan heavily pushed by Lachlan to merge News Corp and Fox Corp, with Betr becoming the Australian version of Fox Bet. Betr would be the first example of Fox/News synergy.
Nationwide News began with a modest $2.9 million outlay, but a flurry of capital raisings up to late December pushed its total investment to $65 million.
In January, however, Lachlan had to throw in the towel on the Fox-News merger idea, which meant the whole international Fox Bet plan was toast, and overnight News Corp’s risk appetite for Betr disappeared.
As this paper reported in February, News reported a $US33 million equity loss from affiliates in the December half year, most of it from the investment in Betr. That $US33 million figure is after tax, of course. That makes the pre-tax loss in Aussie dollars around $70 million, with a further $US10 million loss from equity affiliates in the March quarter. News Corp has well and truly lost its shirt on the gee-gees.
Of course losing money doesn’t mean that betting platforms aren’t worth anything. Fox emerged from last November’s mediation tussle with UK giant Flutter Entertainment with confirmation that it has a valid 10-year option to buy 18.6 per cent of Flutter’s FanDuel, which claims to have half the US online betting market. FanDuel is yet to break even, but the sliding option deal currently values it at $US22 billion.
But it was Fox Bet that was to be Lachlan’s big play. While he was keen to use Fox Sports coverage as a springboard to build a sports betting platform, he didn’t want Fox to run it. Instead, in 2018 he did a deal with The Stars Group (TSG) to run Fox Bet as a joint venture.
Months later Flutter bought TSG and inherited control of Fox Bet. Fox claims Flutter starved Fox Bet of funds, favouring FanDuel instead – a claim which the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services decision in November rejected.
Critics say Fox Bet’s technology is clunky. It is rolled out in just four states and has less than 1 per cent of the US market.
So, it’s decision time. In August, Flutter can walk away from the Fox Bet joint venture, which means either Fox steps up with its own funding and organisation to run it, or Fox Bet gets canned.
It’s a tough decision, given all the personal capital the Murdoch scion has invested in the idea of building a betting empire. That’s all about to fall apart, unless he doubles down. Suppose he has to ask himself: Do I feel lucky?
(AFR)
Sportsbet splashed more than $64m on gambling ads in 18 months - July 2023
Sportsbet, the country’s largest online bookmaker, has spent $64 million on television ads during live sport and racing events in the past 18 months, more than triple the amount spent by rivals Tabcorp and Ladbrokes.
Confidential spending data, compiled by researchers at Nielsen and obtained by The Australian Financial Review, shows the extent of spending by bookmakers at a time when the federal government is considering whether to place a ban on gambling advertising on television
The proposal from a parliamentary inquiry has worried the major broadcasters, with bookmakers already scaling back their spending. There are fears a complete ban will choke off tens of millions of dollars that flow into the coffers of broadcasters and sporting organisations.
The data shows Tabcorp has spent only $5 million since the government’s online gambling inquiry commenced in mid-October. Other major competitors also reduced the amount they spent on the Nine Network, Seven Network and Network Ten as the inquiry dragged into the new year.
The inquiry, chaired by Labor MP Peta Murphy, recommended two weeks ago that the government completely ban gambling advertising on television, radio and social media platforms.
Wagering companies that would be worrying about the impact of that change are Sportsbet, which has spent $64.4 million, and the Entain-owned Ladbrokes and Neds brands, which spent a combined $37.6 million on advertising on television networks between January last year and May.
Outside of social media platforms, television is the most commonly used platform to advertise or promote a brand. The impact of the ban would not only affect the market share of the biggest spenders, but the amount of advertising revenue television networks receive.
Gambling ads are typically used by a wagering company for two reasons: to raise brand awareness or to promote inducements around a particular sporting event or racing carnival.
Up in lights
Nielsen’s data does not account for in-house stadium advertisements or sponsorship on jerseys, which would also be banned under a government recommendation. It also does not count advertising on subscription television provider Foxtel and its streaming service Kayo Sports.
But it paints a picture for just how intertwined sports betting and key racing and sports events are. Most of Sportsbet’s ads run in the AFL and NRL seasons as the wagering company is the official partner for both codes. Data from March to September – when both competitions run – show more than $32 million was spent in that six-month period alone.
Ladbrokes, which has spent $20.2 million in 17 months, skews its spend to the AFL and NRL finals. From September to November 2022, during the spring racing carnival, Sportsbet spent $16.8 million – more than the total amount spent by Tabcorp over an 18-month period.
That is largely due to Tabcorp dramatically scaling back the amount it spends with broadcasters. Tabcorp has spent just $5.5 million on television advertising since October, despite the Melbourne Cup Carnival running in November. That means it spent $10.8 million from January to September.
It was not the only one to reduce spend in that time – all other wagering companies spent millions less during the inquiry period than in the months before.
Tabcorp’s dramatic drop in spend coincides with comments made by the company’s chief executive, Adam Rytenskild, at the inquiry. At the time, Mr Rytenskild said the company would voluntarily stop all advertising on free-to-air television during the day by 2024.
BetR, the News Corp-backed wagering group that began advertising when it launched in October, has so far spent almost $15 million.
The smallest spender is BlueBet, which contributed just $3.3 million to the $155.4 million spent in the period. PointsBet, which recently sold its operations in the United States to Jay Z-backed Fanatics, spent $12.6 million in the same period.
The government is meeting with broadcaster and wagering companies to expedite a process that will crack down on issues associated with the wagering sector.
The sweeping gambling ad ban – worth more than $300 million last year – was one of 31 recommendations made by Ms Murphy’s parliamentary inquiry. Other recommendations include the appointment of a minister dedicated to reducing online gambling harm, the creation of a national regulator and changes to behavioural algorithms in gambling apps.
For their part, television executives and most wagering companies are opposed to a blanket ban, though some concede a reduction is feasible. Tabcorp is unconcerned, but the ban would not include ads for physical shop premises or ads that appear during horse or greyhound racing (Tabcorp currently holds exclusive wagering licences in NSW and Victoria).
Sportsbet chief executive Barni Evans said last month that while his company supported several recommendations made by the inquiry, prohibition on advertising was a step too far.
“We believe an approach that significantly reduces the number of ads rather than complete bans would respond to community concerns, while still supporting sport and media,” Mr Evans said.
(AFR)
Gambling ad ban would hurt footy and media: Sportsbet - May 2023
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s budget reply assault on gambling advertising during sports broadcasts has sparked anger among TV executives, who say they could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Mr Dutton has proposed banning gambling advertising for an hour before and after sporting matches because “footy time is family time”.
“The bombardment of betting ads takes the joy out of televised sports,” he said. “Worse, they are changing the culture of our country in a bad way and normalising gambling at a young age.”
The proposal would potentially have the most severe repercussions for the broadcasters of the AFL and NRL, including Seven Network, Nine Entertainment and pay-TV operator Foxtel. The media companies declined to comment publicly. Nine is the publisher of this masthead.
London-listed Sportsbet, part of London-listed Flutter Entertainment, has about half of Australia’s online bookmaker market and its advertising is omnipresent during sports broadcasts.
A Sportsbet spokesman supported “balanced” reform, warning against moves that would restrict the amount of money going into media companies and sporting bodies.
“Thursday’s announcement, which focuses solely on sport broadcasts, risks leading to significant impacts on sport and media funding,” the spokesman said.
“We encourage all political parties to work constructively in consultation with affected sectors on proportionate solutions that achieve this balance while reducing harm.”
Little warning
The surprise announcement comes at a tricky time for the online gambling industry, sports bodies and big media organisations. There has been growing support among MPs and voters for a crackdown on online bookmakers, particularly curbing the sheer volume of advertising that is plastered across TV, radio and social media.
Some executives at the companies were given a heads-up by the Coalition’s communications spokesman, David Coleman, before the announcement, according to a person familiar with the matter. “There was no notice, just a heads-up,” the source said.
Privately, TV executives say changes would put at risk up to $200 million of revenue from the gambling companies. Figures from Standard Media Index, which measures advertising agency spend, show TV networks made $180 million from the $300 million spent on gambling ads last year.
The figures are material for companies such as Seven, Nine and Foxtel, which have signed long-term broadcast contracts with the AFL and NRL worth billions. Those companies sign annual packages with the likes of Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and ASX-listed Tabcorp to place marketing around the games.
Under existing laws, gambling ads are banned from five minutes before a live sport starts until 8.30pm. After 8.30pm, the ads can also appear during breaks.
One gambling industry veteran said the amount of money flowing into media and the football codes would be “substantially less” if Mr Dutton’s idea were to become reality.
Other executives were more sanguine about the announcement, describing Mr Dutton’s speech as headline-grabbing rather than a serious policy proposal, coming weeks before the government’s inquiry into online gambling is due to report.
“It’s a simple way to get ahead of Labor on the topic,” one TV executive said, adding that blocking TV ads would shift promotion onto YouTube and social media apps.
The federal government’s parliamentary inquiry into online gambling has become the main venue for the likes of Sportsbet, media and sporting bodies to be consulted on the coming crackdown.
Last month, AFL chief executive Gil McLachlan appeared at the inquiry along with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo. They suggested the inquiry should look at banning so-called inducement ads, such as cash-back and free-cash offers, particularly on social media.
The inquiry has already led to the government committing to new laws that will ban people from using credit cards through online bookmakers.
(AFR)
Wallabies turn in shocker to open Eddie Jones era - 9th July 2023
The Wallabies have turned in a horror first Test under coach Eddie Jones, falling 43-12 to South Africa to continue their 60-year drought in Pretoria.
The Australians arrived at Loftus Versfeld, where they have never tasted victory, looking to usher in a winning era under Jones in his second stint as Wallabies coach.
But their plans of opening the Rugby Championship with a victory on Saturday were left in tatters with few Wallabies boosting their World Cup stocks.
“We were outplayed everywhere, beaten in every department,” Jones conceded.
“Really disappointing but no excuses. We got a realistic appraisal of where we are as a team.”
Co-captain James Slipper described it as a “tough start”, the veteran prop lamenting his team’s discipline, incurring 11 penalties and two penalty tries, which resulted in hooker Dave Porecki and winger Suliasi Vunivalu being handed yellow cards.
“Discipline, playing at the right end of the field ... it’s a tough start, but we’ve got a long year ahead of us so we’ll keep working hard,” Slipper said.
They started with a bang, as star winger Marika Koroibete barrelled across the line in the seventh minute before the home side piled on 41 unanswered points.
Debutant five-eighth Carter Gordon scored in the final minute, putting his hand up to replace Quade Cooper in the No.10 jersey next week against Argentina.
But the Australians’ defence was in disarray throughout, making more than double the number of tackles compared to the Boks, who won the collisions to control possession and territory.
The Wallabies also looked clueless in attack, with Cooper failing to put his stamp on the game and their opponents under any pressure.
They repeatedly played into South Africa’s hands by kicking away possession while handling errors cruelled many an attacking raid.
They only managed to spend 0.47 seconds in the opposition 22 in three visits compared to the home side’s 15.
Lightning winger Kurt-Lee Arendse bagged a hat-trick for South Africa, exposing Vunivalu who had a shocker in his first Test start.
Arendse scored twice in the opening 40 minutes as his team surged to a 17-5 halftime lead and added a third in the 50th minute.
Reece Hodge’s radar was off target, with the inside centre missing all three first-half attempts including a late 66m effort which fell short and he was replaced by Samu Kerevi early in the second stanza.
A number of Springboks stars missed the match to head to New Zealand to prepare for the All Blacks, but they showed their depth across the park.
Jones rang the changes but his replacements were unable to make an impact on the world champions, who were cheered on by more than 50,000 in the stands.
“There is a game next week (against Argentina in Sydney) and we will be better. It is a bad day at the office and we have to front up and play better than that,” said Jones.
(AAP)
Volkanovski trumps Rodriguez to retain UFC featherweight crown - 9th July 2023
Las Vegas: Alexander Volkanovski reasserted himself as the featherweight champion with a technical knockout over Yair Rodriguez four minutes into the third round at UFC 290.
Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout.
Former US President Donald Trump, who is running for the Republican nomination in 2024, was among those in attendance. He entered the venue shortly before the main card began, walking next to UFC president Dana White and drawing roars from the T-Mobile Arena crowd. Trump shook hands with Las Vegas Raiders NFL star Maxx Crosby, a major UFC fan who sat behind him. Jamal Murray of the NBA champion Denver Nuggets also had a floor seat.
Volkanovski, a heavy favourite, took Rodriguez (16-4) to the mat near the two-minute mark of the first round and kept him there to dictate the pace. That became a theme as the second round played out much the same way, with Volkanovski, 34, also delivering several shots to Rodriguez’s face.
Rodriguez, who is from Mexico, then took the fight to Volkanovski in the third round, preventing the ground and pound with a series of kicks to put him on the defensive. But with a minute left, Volkanovski slammed Rodriguez, 30, to the mat and pounded him with rights and lefts before referee Herb Dean stepped in.
This was Volkanovski’s first fight since a loss by unanimous decision to lightweight champion lightweight Islam Makhachev on February 11.
That ended Volkanovski’s 22-fight winning streak, and after the brief elevation to lightweight, he dropped back down to featherweight for this fight.
Before moving up, Volkanovski had won five titles fights to make a strong argument as the best featherweight of all time. He also has been in the conversation for top current pound-for-pound fighter, and Volkanovski is second in the UFC’s official rankings to Jon Jones.
The Volkanovski-Rodriguez match highlighted the International Fight Week card that included a second championship bout.
Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja captured the flyweight belt by beating champion Brandon Moreno of Mexico, winning by split decision.
Judges Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo gave the Pantoja the victory at 48-47 in the five-round fight, but Ben Cartlidge saw the bout quite differently with a 49-46 score in favour of Moreno.
Pantoja (26-5) collapsed to the mat after the decision was announced. He has beaten Moreno (21-7-2) in all three meetings.
“I worked so hard,” Pantoja said. “I left everything I had.”
(AP)
‘Green light’: UFC boss grants Aussie ‘freak’ special privilege - 10th July 2023
Alexander Volkanovski has been given a rare “green light” by UFC boss Dana White in a gesture that befits his greatness.
LAS VEGAS — UFC president Dana White says Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski will be given a ‘green light’ to pick whichever fight he wants after beating Yair Rodriguez with an elbow injury so bad it requires immediate surgery.
If defeating one of the UFC’s most dangerous strikers within three rounds at UFC 290 wasn’t impressive enough – or dumping and finishing him on the ground — Volkanovski revealed afterwards it had all been done with a serious arm injury that had seen him “struggle” throughout camp.
His team revealed to Fox Sports Australia that the fighter has a chipped bone in his left elbow so bad he cannot fully straighten the arm.
It also caused nerve complications during the build up.
Yet while the UFC featherweight champ will now undergo surgery, he suggested he would not rule out still chasing that hyped rematch against lightweight king Islam Makhachev in October.
So dominant was Volkanovski in his fifth UFC featherweight title defence, White indicated afterwards ‘The Great’ could now decide himself what comes next.
“Volk looked incredible,” the UFC boss said. “He’s an absolute freak.
“He’s at one of those places in his career now where whatever he wants to do, what are we gunna say?
“He’s proven himself a million times. So whatever he wants to do we go with it, yeah.”
Asked about how quickly he would recover from the injury, the Aussie reminded that he broke his hand when beating Max Holloway on the same International Fight Week show a year ago.
Despite the setback, Volkanovski was still back and ready to go on standby for the annual Abu Dhabi card that October.
“I didn’t mean to scare everyone,” the champ grinned when asked about his surgery revelation.
“It’s not a big deal.
“I’ll be back ASAP.
“It will be a quick and I’ll be back training.
“I broke my hand at International Fight Week last year and you saw me in Abu Dhabi ready to fight (on standby) Islam Makhachev or Charles Oliveira.
“That was a broken bone.
“So I’ll be right.
“You don’t need to stress about that. I’ll be active again, don’t worry about. I have a couple of little things to fix up then I will be kicking ass again.”
Asked later in his press conference again about October Volk said “I’m not ruling it out”.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia in fight week, Volk suggested a win over Rodriguez would see him chase a rematch with Makhachev.
If that wasn’t possible, he then wanted to challenge for the ‘BMF’ title – which is set to be contested by lightweight stars Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje at UFC 291.
But now that White says he can pick?
“We all know I want that lightweight belt,” he said. “I want that Islam fight, want that rematch.
“Not only for me to get that belt, get that win back, but it’s a massive fight for the UFC as well.
“It’s a fight everyone wants to see. It was a close fight, a cracking fight. We showed out. He lived up to the hype, I lived up to the hype and the fight lived up to the hype.”
White agreed, praising not only Volkanovski but an entire team that includes UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and fellow Kiwi Dan Hooker, who upset Jalin Turner this same night with broken wrist.
“Look at Israel Adesanya, he’s ready to fight anybody, anywhere, anytime,” White said.
“Volkanovski is willing to fight anybody, too.
“When you look at Volk, the size, the reach, he doesn’t care. He gets in there and handles his business.
“Hooker also breaks his wrist in the second round (tonight). I didn’t even know. That whole team is bad ass.”
(FOX Sports)
Thursday, July 06, 2023
Wednesday, July 05, 2023
Media Man Group Blog: Crown Casino Flashback
Media Man Group Blog
Crown Limited puts 25pc limit on Echo Entertainment stake...
The jockeying for position by various stakeholders in casinos operator Echo Entertainment is continuing, with James Packer's Crown Ltd seeking regulatory approval to lift its stake in Echo to 25 per cent.
Casinos operator Crown has added the 25 per cent limit to its application to the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and the Queensland government for an increase of its Echo stake to above 10 per cent.
Crown already holds a stake in Echo of 10 per cent.
Echo's constitution restricts a person's voting power to a maximum of 10 per cent unless the written consent of the regulator in NSW and the relevant Queensland minister is obtained.
Crown said on Wednesday that the regulators had accepted the new condition to its application but were yet to decide on whether Crown could exceed the 10 per cent ownership level.
'If Crown is eventually granted approval to increase its ownership in Echo to up to 25 per cent, then Crown would not be able to acquire additional Echo shares such that Crown's ownership interest would increase above 25 per cent without first making another application which would then be subject to further investigation and ultimately a determination by the regulators,' Crown said in a statement.
The changes to Crown's application comes after investment firm Perpetual was granted approval by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and the Queensland government to increase its potential maximum voting power in Echo from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
However, Perpetual had earlier notified the Australian Securities Exchange, on June 22, that it had ceased to be a substantial shareholder in Echo.
Malaysian gambling group Genting holds a stake of about 9.88 per cent in Echo and has also applied to regulators to lift its stake above 10 per cent.
Fat Prophets analyst Greg Fraser said the fact that Crown had asked to increase its holding up to the figure of 25 per cent was 'interesting'.
If Genting were to aim to acquire 25 per cent also, and both companies did in fact obtain 25 per cent each, Genting and Crown acting in unison would be enough to control Echo without making a takeover bid.
However, there was nothing to indicate yet that Crown and Genting were acting or would act in unison.
Mr Fraser said Crown may not necessarily move to a 25 per cent stake immediately. It could lift its stake to 19.9 per cent - the threshold for making a full takeover bid - and then increase its stake in Echo by three per cent every six months under the 'creep' provisions of the Corporations Act.
'I guess the next step is we wait for Genting to do the same. As the gambling parlance goes: to see your 25 and raise you something',' Mr Fraser said.
Echo operates The Star casino in Sydney, the Treasury casino in Brisbane, Jupiters Townsville and Jupiters Gold Coast.
Crown operates the Crown casino and Melbourne and the Burswood casino in Perth.
Shares in Echo were one cent lower at $4.29 at 1104 AEST on Tuesday.
Crown bouncer pleads not guilty - 6th July 2012...
A Crown Casino bouncer has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of a patron who was thrown to the ground 'like a bull'.
Matthew Lawson, 27, was on Friday committed to stand trial over the death of Anthony Dunning during an altercation at the Melbourne casino last July.
Mr Dunning, 40, died in hospital four days later.
After a three-week committal hearing Magistrate Peter Reardon ruled there was enough evidence for Lawson to stand trial.
The court heard during the hearing that casino patrons had warned security staff they were choking Mr Dunning and should let him go.
Two of Mr Dunning's friends were also taken to the ground by bouncers.
Lawson, of Hoppers Crossing, was bailed to appear in the Victorian Supreme Court on July 19 for a directions hearing.
Five other bouncers were also committed to stand trial on lesser charges over the incident involving Mr Dunning or his friends, with each pleading not guilty.
They have been bailed and will appear in the Supreme Court on the same day as Lawson.
Packer in strong position on Barangaroo - 8th July 2012...
Developer Lend Lease says billionaire James Packer would be in a strong position to build a casino at Barangaroo if the NSW government granted a second licence.
The comment by Lend Lease chief executive Steve McCann came as his company secured $2 billion of funding to build the first two commercial towers at the controversial site in Sydney's CBD.
Mr Packer and his Crown Ltd last week sought approval to up its stake in rival Echo Entertainment, which holds the city's sole casino licence.
Mr McCann said Lend Lease was in discussions with several hotel operators and it was talking to the state government about relocating a proposed luxury hotel.
'If you look at Crown's facilities elsewhere in Australia and overseas they're very high quality,' Mr McCann told ABC's Inside Business program on Sunday.
'We're looking for a very high quality hotel and if the opportunity to get a gaming licence puts them in a strong commercial position, which is what you'd expect, then I've no doubt they'd be a competitive proposition.'
Lend Lease had the right to build a hotel on the site but Crown wouldn't automatically win the hotel operation contract if it managed to obtain a casino licence.
'Clearly, if Crown's the best proposition we'll consider that, but we're talking to a number of players,' Mr McCann said.
Crown recently ramped up its move on fellow casinos operator Echo Entertainment, which runs The Star Casino, by seeking regulatory approval to lift its stake from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
Last month Lend Lease signed agreements with Westpac and financial services firm KPMG to occupy the majority of the first two commercial buildings at Barangaroo from around mid-2015 to early 2016.
Mr McCann said his company had been working on the funding for some time with partners Canada Pension Plan, Australian Prime Property Commercial Fund, Telstra Super and First State Super.
'I'm not sure that of itself it indicates that the market's loosening up but it certainly indicates the quality of the product that we have brought to them,' he said.
Crown Casino Flashback
Crown Limited puts 25pc limit on Echo Entertainment stake...
The jockeying for position by various stakeholders in casinos operator Echo Entertainment is continuing, with James Packer's Crown Ltd seeking regulatory approval to lift its stake in Echo to 25 per cent.
Casinos operator Crown has added the 25 per cent limit to its application to the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and the Queensland government for an increase of its Echo stake to above 10 per cent.
Crown already holds a stake in Echo of 10 per cent.
Echo's constitution restricts a person's voting power to a maximum of 10 per cent unless the written consent of the regulator in NSW and the relevant Queensland minister is obtained.
Crown said on Wednesday that the regulators had accepted the new condition to its application but were yet to decide on whether Crown could exceed the 10 per cent ownership level.
'If Crown is eventually granted approval to increase its ownership in Echo to up to 25 per cent, then Crown would not be able to acquire additional Echo shares such that Crown's ownership interest would increase above 25 per cent without first making another application which would then be subject to further investigation and ultimately a determination by the regulators,' Crown said in a statement.
The changes to Crown's application comes after investment firm Perpetual was granted approval by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority and the Queensland government to increase its potential maximum voting power in Echo from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.
However, Perpetual had earlier notified the Australian Securities Exchange, on June 22, that it had ceased to be a substantial shareholder in Echo.
Malaysian gambling group Genting holds a stake of about 9.88 per cent in Echo and has also applied to regulators to lift its stake above 10 per cent.
Fat Prophets analyst Greg Fraser said the fact that Crown had asked to increase its holding up to the figure of 25 per cent was 'interesting'.
If Genting were to aim to acquire 25 per cent also, and both companies did in fact obtain 25 per cent each, Genting and Crown acting in unison would be enough to control Echo without making a takeover bid.
However, there was nothing to indicate yet that Crown and Genting were acting or would act in unison.
Mr Fraser said Crown may not necessarily move to a 25 per cent stake immediately. It could lift its stake to 19.9 per cent - the threshold for making a full takeover bid - and then increase its stake in Echo by three per cent every six months under the 'creep' provisions of the Corporations Act.
'I guess the next step is we wait for Genting to do the same. As the gambling parlance goes: to see your 25 and raise you something',' Mr Fraser said.
Echo operates The Star casino in Sydney, the Treasury casino in Brisbane, Jupiters Townsville and Jupiters Gold Coast.
Crown operates the Crown casino and Melbourne and the Burswood casino in Perth.
Shares in Echo were one cent lower at $4.29 at 1104 AEST on Tuesday.
Crown bouncer pleads not guilty - 6th July 2012...
A Crown Casino bouncer has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of a patron who was thrown to the ground 'like a bull'.
Matthew Lawson, 27, was on Friday committed to stand trial over the death of Anthony Dunning during an altercation at the Melbourne casino last July.
Mr Dunning, 40, died in hospital four days later.
After a three-week committal hearing Magistrate Peter Reardon ruled there was enough evidence for Lawson to stand trial.
The court heard during the hearing that casino patrons had warned security staff they were choking Mr Dunning and should let him go.
Two of Mr Dunning's friends were also taken to the ground by bouncers.
Lawson, of Hoppers Crossing, was bailed to appear in the Victorian Supreme Court on July 19 for a directions hearing.
Five other bouncers were also committed to stand trial on lesser charges over the incident involving Mr Dunning or his friends, with each pleading not guilty.
They have been bailed and will appear in the Supreme Court on the same day as Lawson.
Packer in strong position on Barangaroo - 8th July 2012...
Developer Lend Lease says billionaire James Packer would be in a strong position to build a casino at Barangaroo if the NSW government granted a second licence.
The comment by Lend Lease chief executive Steve McCann came as his company secured $2 billion of funding to build the first two commercial towers at the controversial site in Sydney's CBD.
Mr Packer and his Crown Ltd last week sought approval to up its stake in rival Echo Entertainment, which holds the city's sole casino licence.
Mr McCann said Lend Lease was in discussions with several hotel operators and it was talking to the state government about relocating a proposed luxury hotel.
'If you look at Crown's facilities elsewhere in Australia and overseas they're very high quality,' Mr McCann told ABC's Inside Business program on Sunday.
'We're looking for a very high quality hotel and if the opportunity to get a gaming licence puts them in a strong commercial position, which is what you'd expect, then I've no doubt they'd be a competitive proposition.'
Lend Lease had the right to build a hotel on the site but Crown wouldn't automatically win the hotel operation contract if it managed to obtain a casino licence.
'Clearly, if Crown's the best proposition we'll consider that, but we're talking to a number of players,' Mr McCann said.
Crown recently ramped up its move on fellow casinos operator Echo Entertainment, which runs The Star Casino, by seeking regulatory approval to lift its stake from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
Last month Lend Lease signed agreements with Westpac and financial services firm KPMG to occupy the majority of the first two commercial buildings at Barangaroo from around mid-2015 to early 2016.
Mr McCann said his company had been working on the funding for some time with partners Canada Pension Plan, Australian Prime Property Commercial Fund, Telstra Super and First State Super.
'I'm not sure that of itself it indicates that the market's loosening up but it certainly indicates the quality of the product that we have brought to them,' he said.
Saturday, July 01, 2023
Media Man Group Blog: SEO News
Media Man Group Blog
SEO News via Media Man: Ways to Improve your Site’s Ranking (SEO) Ways to Improve your Site’s Ranking (SEO)
New strategies for Search Engine Optimization
What is SEO?
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The ultimate aim of SEO is to create high-quality and informative content that increases the volume of traffic that your website receives daily. Optimizing your website involves creating and expanding your content to ensure that search engines will choose your site over its competitors.
The focus of SEO is to perfect the quality and quantity of your webpage to make sure that your website has an edge over others. Therefore, SEO plays an essential role in driving traffic to your website, which is crucial for the visibility and success of your online Business.
1. Publish Relevant, Authoritative Content
This article provides valuable suggestions on how to improve search engine optimization (SEO) and enhance website ranking on search engine results. Creating quality content that caters to the user’s needs is the driving factor of SEO marketing, and the article emphasizes that there is no substitute for great content.
The article further provides guidance on identifying appropriate keyword phrases for each authoritative content page and making use of them strategically throughout the content. Creating distinct web pages for each distinct targeted keyword phrase is advisable to enhance ranking.
The article suggests using keywords in headings, subheadings, URLs, and titles, and stressing the importance of readability and user-friendliness of the content. Using emphasis tags and strategically linking to relevant sources is also encouraged. By following these valuable suggestions, users can create SEO-friendly content that benefits the readers while improving their website’s overall ranking.
2. Update Your Content Regularly
Maintaining updated content is crucial to improve your website’s relevancy, and it is a crucial factor that search engines prioritize as well. We highly recommend scheduling regular content audits, for instance, on a semesterly basis, to update your webpages and blog posts accordingly.
Writing additional content frequently on your departmental news blog can enhance your search engine rankings by incorporating relevant keyword phrases. Brief blog posts can also be helpful if they offer specific updates related to your targeted topics.
Moreover, interlinking your related CMS webpages and blog posts can provide readers with a better understanding of your website’s content and additional information on the subject. Thus, keep your website updated and relevant to improve your visitor’s user experience and attract more traffic to your site.
3. Metadata
Website designers use metadata to provide information about a website’s content. When creating a webpage, a space between the “head” tags is reserved for metadata.
If you use a CMS website produced by the UMC web team, they have already filled in the metadata. However, as your content changes, it is important to review and update the metadata.
Title Metadata
Title metadata is the most important because it determines the page title that appears at the top of a browser window and in search engine results. For those with a CMS website, the web team has automated this process based on your page title. Therefore, it is essential to use well-thought-out page titles that include keyword phrases.
Description Matadata
Description metadata is a brief and interesting summary of what your website contains. It’s like a store’s attractive display that encourages people to visit. Usually, it should be two sentences long. Search engines may or may not use this summary, but it’s good to have it in case they do.
Kayword Metadata
Keyword metadata is not very helpful in improving your search engine ranking. However, it’s useful to include some of your important keywords in the metadata. You should select a few phrases with one to four words each and add three to seven of them. For example, “computer science degree” is a good keyword phrase to use.
4. Have a Link-worthy Site
Making your website popular involves efforts in developing valuable content and enhancing its search results. To achieve this, you must focus on creating informative and unbiased content that caters to the readers’ interests and queries.
Furthermore, your website might earn a backlink from other websites if it provides good value to the readers. This can improve its search engine ranking immensely, which can bring in more visitors. It is also crucial to incorporate descriptive hyperlinks in the text as opposed to generic “click here” links.
This helps in giving proper context to people who use screen readers and makes it easier for search engines to crawl your website. You can lift your website SEO performance by using appropriate keywords in your content and developing internal links. These techniques can help you build a better online presence and increase your website’s popularity.
5. Use ALT Tags
Want search engines to find your website and to make it more accessible for people who use text-only browsers or screen readers? Simply put, use alt tags to describe your media content, like images and videos, with alternative text descriptions.
These descriptions act as labels for search engines and help them identify your page better. They also provide context for those who cannot view the media directly. By making your website more accessible and searchable, you can improve its overall user experience.
News
New strategies for Search Engine Optimization
New areas of digital marketing are as changeable and require so much adaption and new-thinking as the world of SEO. Search Engine Optimization has come a long way from its beginnings in the 1990s, and the technologies deciding what is “good SEO” or not changes from year to year.
That’s why tech companies such as IncRev are launching new strategies aimed at long-term goals in both data-driven and relations-based SEO all over the world, by implementing tactics from both traditional PR and modern SEO and link-building.
Below, we will discuss the nature of SEO, how SEO is changing, and why choosing an agency such as IncRev will be the key to your SEO success.
Best SEO practices 2023:
Find your customers with data-driven market analysis
Find authoritative marketing partners using data-driven PR
Reach your customers with high quality outreach and credible link-building
What is SEO?
In order to discuss the ways in which SEO works, it’s important to understand the basic principles on which the concept is built. SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, and is an umbrella term for processes in which users optimize their websites in order to rank higher on search engines such as Google whenever customers search for keywords relevant to their website.
By optimizing the various aspects of a website, SEO aims to improve its ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs), thereby increasing the quantity and quality of traffic. In layman’s terms, it helps more people to find your website by increasing its digital visibility.
Why is SEO important?
There’s an old SEO joke that goes like this: A man asks a detective “Where’s the best place to hide a body?” The detective answers “Why, on the second page of Google, of course!”. In other words, ranking on the first page of Google is the key to getting traffic and therefore sales or viewings on your webpage, as few people bother to look past the first results page.
In fact, the first spot on Google is ten times more likely to get a click than results number ten, and the top three results receive over half of all clicks. That’s why the goal of every SEO strategist is to get a website into the top ten search results on Google, and preferably in the top three.
That’s why SEO marketing lives on, despite some people saying that SEO is dead. The answer is: it’s more alive than ever. It just doesn’t fit into the mold of the quick-results culture of the modern world, but it is still effective.
The evolution of SEO
SEO as a term first came into use in 1997, despite the first website being published in 1991. The coin was termed John Audette of Multimedia Marketing Group early that year, and so the hunt for the top of the search engine results pages began.
In the beginning, there were several competing names for the concept, including search engine ranking, website promotion, etc. The strongest competitor was the term “search engine marketing”, which was originally pitched as a successor to SEO. But ultimately, search engine optimization proved to be the most steadfast and all-encompassing term, while SEM is used to describe concepts like paid search marketing and advertising.
Google’s rise to power
In the 2000s, Google grew to become the search engine giant we know it as today. Soon enough, the organization was able to survive on its own. At that time, they also launched effective web crawlers and PageRank algorithms, which changed the SEO game.
Google began measuring both on-page and off-page content to decide SERP listings, forcing SEO to expand their work sphere and link-building took off as a popular tactic. Around the same time, Google also introduced PageRank scores, a website score between 1-10, which was an early version of today’s Domain Authority.
These measures were broken down further with the introduction of Google Analytics and the Google Webmaster Tools (Search Console) in 2006. Later major updates, such as Panda and Penguin in 2011 and 2012 respectively, were put in place to sort out poor quality SEO work and reward those with quality websites.
To this day, Google continues to release core and minor updates that impact the way that SEO can work. The platform has grown to be such a reputable platform that in 2022 it was estimated that Google accounted for more than 85 percent of the search engine usage, which is why it’s the platform that most SEO strategies focus on today.
The big three: Local, social, mobile
There have been three major changes in the way that people search the web, that has not been a result of search engine updates. The first of these came in the mid-2000s, when there was an adaptation toward geographical searches, which birthed local SEO. This meant that people were now searching for businesses near them, such as restaurants or car washes, thus increasing the need for separate local search engine strategies. This development also resulted in the advancement of end-user data, including search history and personalized interests.
Fast-forward another decade into the 2010s, and a whole new set of searching and web-using emerged. Rather than just using the universal search-functions, users were now turning to medias such as YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social medias for news and knowledge. Most importantly for SEO, these networks became revolutionary in building brand awareness. As such, the old term of search engine marketing (SEM) became ever more important on these platforms.
As users started to bring their lives and entertainment from the big screens, such as laptops or TVs, they also began to use search engines straight from their mobile phones. This third change in user patterns led to mobile searching overtaking desktop searches in 2015, and added mobile adaptability to the list of SEO tools.
The 2020s, AI, and the future of SEO
We’ve finally arrived at our current time. The 2020s have brought with it a continued increase in digital usage and SEO is perhaps more important than ever. One of the biggest challenges the world of SEO stands before today is generative AI. Chat GPT, the free global access to generative AI as a search function, was released in the winter of 2022/2023, and has garnered instant attraction from both customers and competitors, including Google. It is still unclear what impact generative AI will have on SEO practices such as keywords analysis, although it is already affecting the quality of content on the web.
New strategies for new challenges
As new SEO directives arrive from Google’s updates, they also require new strategies. However, some companies – such as IncRev – have decided to create new strategies with a focus on longevity. Among IncRev’s new strategies are both traditional link-building and outreach including, in combination with inspiration from the traditional PR marketing sphere.
The other two strategies that they’ve developed are strongly data-driven market research and PR. The market research is a process in which the company can help customers who want to scale globally to find the best geographical place for them to start their SEO journey, based on SEO factors such as demand and competition.
The market-driven PR can build on that market research or stand alone, as a new way of reaching new marketing partners in international business circles. From these new partners, it is then possible to continue with link-building as well as traditional PR strategies. This is a unique way of piercing niche markets across the globe to attract potential customers.
How does SEO work?
Now that we’ve seen the evolution of SEO it’s time to get to the real question: what is SEO marketing actually, and how does it actually work? In order to understand how SEO works, it’s important to understand these two things: what Google wants and what the customers want. Only by doing so will you understand how you should optimize your web page.
What Google wants
One of the reasons why Google rose to such immense heights early on was due to the founders’ initiative to implement RankPage, or clear guidelines for how to rank content on their platform. Initially, the program worked by ranking content dependent on the linkstructure of the website, that built the foundation for the modern linkbuilding strategies. Simply put, links to the webpage acted as votes of confidence for the webpage.
Today, this concept has developed into the E-E-A-T formula, where Google ranks content based on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. These measures are interpreted by what the site’s linkbuilding looks like, such as what EEAT websites include links back to their landing page. They then ensure that the webpage produces reliable and accurate information, and are most likely to answer their customers’ questions.
Ultimately, the reason why Google wants to prioritize high quality content is because happy Google customers are more likely to return to Google for more information, and therefore generating income for the search engine.
So, how does Google find and rank the webpages? They do this through three stages: crawling, indexing, and serving results.
Crawling means that Google sends “bots” or computer programs to scan through large chunks of the internet to find new or updated pages. They can only find it by going through a link.
Googles then sorts through and organizes the content and puts it in the huge Google Index – a database for webpages.
Lastly, Google serves the results by how relevant they are to the customer queries.
What the customer wants
Broadly speaking, there are three types of searches that customers make, and they can be described as Do-Know-Go. Whenever we search the internet, we either want to do something (such as make a purchase or visit a tourist attraction), know something, or go somewhere. These three types of searches can be further broken down, but these are the basic concepts.
These three prompts can help you optimize your content so that you are answering the demand of the people. By realizing what your customer wants, you can provide SEO-optimized content which is relevant and fresh, which Google will reward you for.
SEO components, or how to do SEO
So how does a webpage get to that top of the search engine results page? While there is no quick fix, SEO provides a long-term strategy which aims at doing just that. SEO incorporates several different tactics in this long-term strategy, in which there are three main components:
Technical SEO
On-page SEO
Off-page SEO
Technical SEO refers to optimization on your webpage. This can for example mean implementing site maps so that Google can crawl the page more easily, increasing the website speed, or making the site mobile adaptable.
On-page SEO refers to edits to the content that is already on the webpage, rather than the technicalities behind it. This can for example include keyword optimizing headings, producing SEO-optimized blog posts, URL and picture optimization, and adding meta titles and descriptions.
Off-page SEO, on the other hand, is part of the link-building strategy. The focus here lies on building credibility and brand awareness by for example writing guests posts and linking to your webpage on other, reputable sources. The key here is to create backlinks, which give authority and endorsement to your website, and thus giving Google a sign that you are a credible source too.
To get good results, it’s important to implement all of the tactics above in a combined effort to get Google’s attention. However, these general descriptions are only scraping the top of the iceberg of SEO. Beneath these lay a whole science of various methods and strategies to rank at the top of the results page.
Link-building
The on-page and off-stage SEO practices can also be called SEO link-building. That’s because they both refer to building a link-system which Google will reward, whether it’s by driving links to your website from other credible sources or creating a seamless link-flow internally on your webpage.
Links to and on your website act as votes of trust, credibility and authority, which is why they are a crucial part of your SEO strategy. However, the links need to be carefully and thoughtfully crafted so that they maintain the right level of relevance and credibility, which can be done through producing high quality SEO content.
SEO content
For both on-page and off-page work, SEO content plays a huge role. As mentioned earlier, Google ranks webpages depending on both their link-building and how credible, authoritative, and expert their content is. However, these two factors are not as separate as one might think: with high quality content, it is also easier to build a good SEO link-building network.
Often when we discuss SEO content, we tend to think of texts of lesser quality that are packed with poor quality links. However, due to Google’s updates, such as Penguin, poor content is continually being phased out. That means individuals and agencies are having to spend more time recruiting better writers and spending more time on content.
As we discussed earlier, SEO content needs to be adapted to both the demands from the customer (a.k.a. the searching person) and Google. That means texts need to be relevant, authoritative, credible, and high quality. These texts also need to be SEO optimized using meta-data, such as titles and descriptions, and keywords in the headings in order for Google’s crawlers to pick up better on the relevancy factor.
That being said, the research and preparation for both good and bad content remains the same – all SEO content needs proper keyword research.
Keyword research
Finding the right keywords will not only make you more competitive as an SEO user, but will also help you understand your audience better. That’s because keywords are clues to who your audience is. For example, the keywords “how to ski” and “ski maintenance” could technically be placed in the same text contextually, but they imply that we’re dealing with skiers of different skill levels.
The keywords are both guides for the link-building process and the content. When building links, it’s important that both the link, the placement, and the publishing website are relevant in the context in order for Google’s crawlers to give it a credible ranking.
There are several tools on the market for finding the best keywords, and there are also a ton of metrics for understanding how good a keyword is and what the chances are of breaking into the competition for that specific keyword. Common metrics include keyword difficulty, traffic potential, cost-per-click, etcetera.
Brand awareness
Ultimately, what these various tactics aim to do is to bring brand awareness to your website. People are twice as likely to purchase from a brand they recognize. An American study found that 75 percent of shoppers tend to go for known retailers, and nearly 70 percent do the same when deciding what search result to click on.
Doing SEO: alone or SEO agency?
As you can tell, there is a lot of information and knowledge that goes into producing and completing good SEO strategies. If you are considering adapting some SEO strategies, you may be wondering whether you should do it all on your own or hire an agency.
Without sugarcoating it, doing SEO alone is a lot of hard work. First and foremost, you got to have basic understandings of both SEO tools, Google Analytics, and good writing skills. Then you need good networking skills and a sense of price bargaining to get your links out to credible sources. On top of this, you need to stay up to date with all the latest developments within Google updates, market changes, and new technologies such as generative AI which can impact your SEO strategies. All of this can be both time consuming and costly.
If it feels overwhelming, there are a ton of SEO agencies on the market that are ready to help. Some of them focus solely on SEO content production, whereas others focus solely on technical SEO or solely on SEO link-building.
Some agencies, such as IncRev, offer entire packages, where staying SEO updated, building and optimizing webpages, link-building, content production, and publishing is included. Together with the new data-driven strategies and tactics, IncRev offers services that are great for both those who are somewhat new as to those who are already familiar and wanting to grow beyond.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about SEO
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a digital marketing form that focuses on creating digital visibility on search engines such as Google by improving websites’ rankings in the search results.
What is the difference between SEO and SEM?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and works with creating organic ranking improvements on platforms like Google. SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing and focuses on paid promotions and marketing on platforms like Google.
How long does SEO take?
Good SEO typically takes between 4 months to a year to see good results. However, it’s crucial to understand that SEO is a long-term strategy, that is never really finished. If you are lucky enough to rank at 1 on Google, the job doesn’t stop there: then you want to maintain that spot by continuing your SEO work.
Why do you need SEO?
SEO helps to build brand awareness, which is key in gaining credibility amongst both Google and potential customers. That’s why SEO is worth it, even if it is a long game.
Media Man
The Media Man Group is primarily and online news, media and sports management firm and website portal developer. By default Media Man developed many effective SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) techniqes and strategies since their launch in 2001. SEO helped elevate Media Man websites into Hitwise "Top 10" status (entertainment - personalities) category. Media Man also offers a range of media and convergent media services including article copy, PR (public relations), text link based campaigns, product placement and endorsement, buzz marketing (via websites and social media) and brand building. The company is best known for insightful media analysis, specalising in pop culture/entertainment, streaming and subscriber television including PPV (Pay-Per-View), pro wrestling aka sports entertainment coverage, MMA (mixed martial arts), and commentary and coverage on an array of trending topics, with strong focus on Twitter, Alphabet (Google, YouTube, Blogger etc) and new and emerging technology and news platforms and developments. Media Man is often referenced in both mainstream, niche and alternative news media stories. The company motto remains "Putting Your Name Out There".
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Saturday, June 24, 2023
Media Man Group Blog: Bitcoin hits highest in a year as crypto rebounds from scandals - 26th June 2023
Media Man Group Blog
Bitcoin hits highest in a year as crypto rebounds from scandals
Bitcoin hit its highest level in a year amid renewed fervour for digital assets despite a slew of challenges for the industry.
The original digital currency crossed above $US31,013, its 2023 peak, to reach its highest level since June 2022, Bloomberg data show. The surge brought bitcoin to as high as $US31,410 before the gain was pared.
The token is up by almost 90 per cent since the start of the year, though still more than 50 per cent below an all-time high of almost $US69,000. Other cryptocurrencies followed suit, with Ether also rallying.
At 3.48am AEST, bitcoin was 3.4 per cent higher to $US31,158 on bitstamp.net.
It’s a remarkable development — and show of resiliency — for a market that many had written off as being on the verge of extinction following a number of high-profile and high-impact scams and company fallouts that left the industry besmirched among investors.
“From the ardent Bitcoiner’s perspective, the token’s most fundamental investment thesis is playing out: inflation, monetary mismanagement, banking crises, sovereign debt anxiety, US-dollar-reserve-status questions are all playing a role in giving Bitcoiners an ‘I told you so’ moment,” said Strahinja Savic, head of data and analytics at FRNT Financial. “I would not describe rallying to new all-time highs despite the challenging environment, but rather because of it.”
BlackRock’s shock filing
Most recently, it’s been news about BlackRock’s shock filing for a US spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund that’s reignited fervour for crypto, with some in the market hoping that such a product — which currently doesn’t exist — gets approval from regulators. An approval — whatever its odds — would mark a win for fans who have for years longed for such an investment product.
“BlackRock’s filing is big news for bitcoin due to its close ties with regulators and a very strong ETF-approval track record,” wrote K33’s Bendik Schei and Vetle Lunde. “It’s also worth noting that BlackRock would not dedicate time and resources to this filing if they did not view the probability of long-term strength from BTC, and thus strong inflows, as substantially high.”
They added: “An approval would profoundly impact the market structure of bitcoin, as it would reduce the barriers for financial advisors to offer exposure to BTC through an accessible investment vehicle with daily creations and redemptions delivered by a trusted issuer.”
Other recent news also reinforced crypto believers’ faith in the rally. A new crypto exchange backed by firms including Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets and Charles Schwab — called EDX Markets — said it’s gone live.
And, among other pieces of news, JPMorgan Chase & Co expanded one of the most high-profile projects to bring blockchain technology to traditional banking, introducing euro-denominated payments for corporate clients using its JPM Coin.
Crypto winter fades
“The effects of the so-called ‘crypto winter’ seem less persistent today than a year ago, as various jurisdictions and institutional players continue to embrace crypto-related initiatives,” David Duong, head of research at Coinbase, said in a recent note.
On Twitter, where a lot of crypto discourse takes place, a number of users cited FOMO — or the fear of missing out — as part of the recent price surge, whereby some investors jump into the market because they are watching others reap the benefits of the rally and want to take part in it.
But the fact that the industry is facing harsh regulatory oversight has not dissipated, despite all the renewed hype over prices surging.
The SEC has set its sights on the crypto space following last year’s numerous instances of scams and fallouts of once-vaunted companies, including FTX and a number of lenders. It’s led to a mass exodus by retail investors in particular, who have collectively lost billions of dollars in the wake of the revelations and implosions.
Trading volumes have dried up as a result. In May, the combined spot and derivatives trading volumes on centralised exchanges fell more than 15 per cent to $US2.4 trillion ($3.6 trillion), according to CCData.
Spot trading volumes alone dropped nearly 22 per cent to $US495 billion, notching the lowest monthly reading since March 2019, the researcher said in a report.
“Given the thin liquidity and the relatively scant amount of BTC available to new entrants (no eager sellers at these levels), even a tiny uptick in large investor interest would be enough to move the price,” said Noelle Acheson, author of the “Crypto Is Macro Now” newsletter.
Others point out that hype around a potential spot-Bitcoin ETF has come and gone in the past, without regulators ever approving such a product.
“People are speculating BlackRock’s heft in the financial markets will help them get approval. I am not quite there yet,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading. “The SEC has been aggressively cracking down on the crypto space, it seems a bit early for such an about-face.”
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