Australian betting technology firm BetMakers Technology Group has confirmed that it has been involved in negotiations with the senior leadership of Tabcorp Holdings.

The confirmation comes a day after the company temporarily requested the halt of trading of its securities on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) following the receipt of a Price Query around its shares.

The Price Query responds to unexpected trading movements/voume on BetMakers shareprice, in which the ASX wagering technology did not disclose its engagement with Tabcorp in yesterday’s filing.

However, the Australian Financial Review subsequently reported that the company’s Chair, Matt Davey, has been involved in M&A discussions with Tabcorp CEO, Gillon McLachlan, since 2025.

In a statement released to the ASX, BetMakers confirmed that the firm was approached by Tabcorp and that discussions did take place. However, it asserts that discussions have now closed and that no offer was made.

“BetMakers confirms that it was approached by Tabocor and that preliminary and informal discussions have taken place regarding a potential change of control transaction,” the company’s statement read.

“While these discussions were at an early stage and highlighted opportunities for Beermakers wagering technology products, no formal offer was received and discussions have ceased.”

The company has also released a response to ASX Compliance’s price query. In this statement the firm states that it will ‘keep the market updated as recruited under its continuous disclosure obligations’.

Why Tabcorp? And why BetMakers?

Tabcorp is the biggest wagering operator in Australia across both retail and online betting, but is contending with an increasingly competitive market with new players setting up domestically and coming in from overseas.

The company finds itself going up against the likes of bet365, Entain‘s Ladbrokes and Neds, Flutter Entertainment’s Sportsbet, bet365, Betfair Australia, and challengers like Betr and NextBet.

According to the AFR, the firm saw BetMakers as a potential way to plug a gap in its debts of over AU$2bn (£1.04bn/ €1.19bn). The acquisition of the B2B firm, which is expanding its profile across Australia and intentionally, could have provided a lucrative revenue stream, in all fairness.

Tabcorp continues its ‘transformation strategy’ led by its CEO, the abovementioned McLachlan. A principal project is a revamp of the Sky Racing wagering and media platform for Australian horseracing – an enhancement needed across TAB retail unit and Tabcorp online platform.

BetMakers became an ASX enterprise in 2023, and has since secured partnerships with betting operators, pari-mutuel wagering firms, and horse racing organisations across 30 different countries according to its LinkedIn page.

The firm’s products encompass betting technology, data and content, and other service solutions, spread across its three core divisions of Global Betting Services, Global Tote and Global lRacing Network.

Early days saw the company encounter a few hurdles, with 2024 being a loss making year. Since then it has rebounded strongly, however, with its latest financial report, covering October-December 2025, showing healthy figures.

It has also secured some prominent partnerships both in Australian betting and elsewhere. Deals with Stake and Betfair Australia are set to go live this year, with the latter encompassing the launch of a new B2C brand to the market, CrownBet.

Expansions are also underway in the US, with the takeover of the Las Vegas Dissemination Company (LVDC) completed on 1 February. Acquiring this business and its various B2B partnerships could have been a tempting prospect for Tabcorp.

However, hypothetically, its competitors may not have wanted to maintain these deals for long. Competitive concerns could also have been raised as a result of the CrownBet launch later this year, theoretically.

SBC News has reached out to Tabcorp for comment.