User:Sportingdata/Mark Read

Mark Read (born 1950) is an Australian bookmaker.

Read has worked in the wagering industry for over 35 years. Read has started and developed numerous organizations as well as authored extensive intellectual property assets in the global wagering industry.

On-Course Bookmaking
Read’s career commenced at a young age, where at 24 he became the youngest bookmaker ever to be granted a rails bookmaking licence by the Victoria Racing Club in Victoria, Australia. Read went on to revolutionize bookmaking practice in Melbourne throughout the 1970s. He broke numerous turnover records including being the first bookmaker in Australia to hold $1 million on the four day Melbourne Cup Carnival, and also being the first bookmaker in Australia to turn over more than $1 million per day.

Betting Technology Pioneer
In the early 1990’s, on-course bookmaking was in decline as attendances fell and off-course gambling competition intensified. Bookmaking needed further evolution. Read’s response was to draw on the experience of modern equity bookmaking and deliver information and analysis as a value-added service – free to the public. This was achieved through the launch of the Read Rating and Racepack products, distributed via satellite Australia wide.

Online Bookmaking
In 1995, Read sought an Australian jurisdiction who shared his vision in the future of wagering, and in the creation of global perspective through the use of evolving technologies. Both the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia accepted business plans leading to new legislation giving birth to Australia’s international corporate bookmaking industry.

In this same year, International All Sports Ltd (IAS) contracted Read to provide strategic direction and management to its business. IAS also purchased copyright to the intellectual property systems that were the foundations of Read’s betting and racing information technology businesses. In January 1996, Darwin All Sports Ltd, a subsidiary of IAS, was granted one of three sports bookmaking licenses in Australia by the NT Government. This license permitted the Company to conduct fixed odds betting on national and international racing as well as global sports, cultural and political events.

On the 6th of August 1999, IAS was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, having been oversubscribed in its first share offer. Its prospectus forecast was a turnover of $140M and revenue of $10M. In late 2001, Darwin All Sports Ltd changed its name to IASbet.com Pty Ltd. IASbet.com continues to be a leading brand in online wagering in Australia.

Read led the company to achieve compounded growth through both organic channels as well as through the acquisition of various businesses. In late 2004, Read cemented IAS’s entry into the global area through the merger of IAS with Canbet Limited. This merger provided the company with an international platform, product offering, and client base.

Read personally developed the company’s international horse racing products, positioning IAS as a leader in global horse racing (incl. both European and Asian racing). Read oversaw the company’s global sport trading business, and was fundamental in the introduction of a world-leading soccer product, offering more than 500 live “In-Play” games each week. Additionally, Read lead the company’s expansion into the field of gaming through the launch of casino, poker, live dealer and skill games.

Read was pivotal in the establishment of key alliances with market leaders in various regions, giving the organization access to localized product offerings in various international regions.

Read stood down as Chairman of IAS in 2004 in accordance with continuous improvement in the Company’s corporate government practices, but remained as Managing Director until the sale of IAS in 2009.

In May of 2009, IAS sold its International businesses and the right to further develop and use its intellectual property rights to Yin Khing Investments Limited, who subsequently on-licensed the right to use and develop the intellectual property rights to Sporting Data. Sporting Data continues to leverage the global alliances established by Read, and provides technological and risk management services to key international operators.

In October 2009, IAS was sold to Paddy Power Plc Australian subsidiary, Sportsbet. At the time of sale, IAS was forecasting annual turnover in excess of $1.3 billion.

Today, Read continues to grow his personal proprietary trade business, and continues to be heavily involved in the development of commercial technology solutions to further evolve the practise.

Family Life
Read is a member of the Read bookmaking family, with both his father and his grandfather having been registered bookmakers. His uncle, Sid Hill, was a prominent Melbourne Rails Bookmaker since 1966. His punting genes came from his late mother, Mabel, who still remains as Australia’s most prolific female punter.

Read is married to Shari Read, and has three sons; Nicholas, Alexander and Xavier – all of whom have followed the family bookmaking tradition.