TLDR Australian betting brand demand rose 34% week-on-week from November 2 to 8, according to Blask. Licensed brands gained 50% during the week, while offshore brands fell 35%. Licensed operators held 96% of Cup day demand, led by Sportsbet at 47% and TAB at 18%. Offshore share of weekly demand halved to below 10%, with the slide starting in mid-October. It was the first Melbourne Cup run under Tabcorp’s One Pool national tote.
Offshore betting brands lost ground in Australia during Melbourne Cup week, while locally licensed bookmakers took almost all of the extra attention. That is according to new analysis from market intelligence platform Blask.
Australian betting demand rose 34% week-on-week from November 2 to 8. Blask said the increase came entirely from the Melbourne Cup, and nearly all of it went to licensed brands.
The data comes from the Blask Index, which measures brand search demand. It uses signals from Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends, so it tracks interest in betting brands rather than the amounts wagered.
Betting on the 2026 Melbourne Cup reached $229 million, the second-highest turnover on the race, 7.4 per cent below last year’s record.
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Licensed Brands Lead on Cup Day
The race was held at Flemington on November 3. Point of Law won in front of 97,112 spectators, the largest Melbourne Cup day crowd since 2016.
Blask called the Melbourne Cup Australia’s biggest betting day of the year. Demand on the day was more than 2.5 times October’s daily average.
Melbourne’s spring carnival showed strength throughout, the firm said. However, no other day in the period came close to Cup day.
Licensed operators accounted for 96% of Cup day demand. Sportsbet