Sports betting technology company OpenBet enjoyed a strong performance at this year’s Melbourne Cup, processing an average of 65,000 vets per minute on its platform.

Describing its scalable platform technology as ‘pivotal’ in handling the betting activity ahead of the race, one of the most popular horse racing fixtures in the Australian sport, OpenBet provided its services to notable operators including Flutter Entertainment’s Australia-facing brand Sportsbet and the TAB New Zealand racing board.

OpenBet operates its platform and tech stack to assist its sports betting operator partners in managing spies in wagering traffic during peak times, which often coincides with major sporting or betting events such as the Melbourne Cup.

The 65,000 bets processed at this year’s meeting represents an increase on last year’s peak figure of 61,000, which was in turn a 75% increase on number of wagers placed in 2019.

“Processing a peak of over 65,000 bets per minute is a phenomenal achievement and simply cannot be matched by anyone else in the sports betting entertainment industry,” said Jordan Levin, OpenBet CEO.

“It illustrates the sheer scale of our platform technology and our ability to seamlessly manage exponential demands during the busiest periods around key sports betting events. 

“The Melbourne Cup generates huge engagement for our Australasian operator customers and this year was no different. The OpenBet team is honoured to have played such an important role in facilitating a safe and responsible sports betting experience for thousands of bettors across the region.”

Successful operations at the Melbourne Cup has built on OpenBet’s positive experiences in the US surrounding the last Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs.

In another major development for the company this year, it was acquired by Endeavor Holdings for a total purchasing price of $1.2 billion (€1.05bn) from original owner Scientific Games Corporation (SGC) as part of the first phase of the latter’s ‘strategic unit divestment’ with the ambition of offsetting its debt.