The Press Association is buying RAS Technology to support
The Press Association is buying Australia's RAS Technology Holdings, a deal announced on October 19, 2026 that will pair The PA's sports data arm, Podium, with a racing and sports data business built to serve the global betting industry, and push the British group into the Australian wagering market.
What each side brings
The PA has worked in racing for more than forty years, keeping long-standing ties with rightsholders to promote horse racing; today its Podium arm supplies racing and sports data, content and products to bookmakers, broadcasters and the wider industry. Founded in 1999 and ASX-listed since 2021, RAS brings established relationships with wagering operators and racing bodies across Australia and Asia, plus capabilities in analytics, wagering technology and digital media. Together, Podium's sports API and RAS's trading services and Wagering 360 platform are positioned as a complete solution for media, bookmakers and rightsholders - broader product ranges, wider international coverage and faster development of services tailored to their needs.
The terms and the people behind them
Completion of the racing data acquisition is expected in February 2027, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions set out in the scheme implementation deed, including the approval of the Federal Court in Australia. The RAS board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, and founders Gary Crispe and Robert Vilkaitis, who together hold or control approximately 34 per cent of the issued shares in RAS, have each publicly stated that they intend to vote all shares held or controlled by them in favour. Until completion, Podium and Racing and Sport will continue to operate as separate businesses. The PA's chief executive Emily Shelley said the two businesses share a commitment to trust and integrity and that their complementary strengths will offer customers a wider range of data and deeper wagering knowledge, while Racing and Sports chief executive Stephen Crispe called the deal an important step for the company, its customers, its people and its legacy.
Why racing data is consolidating
Podium managing director Josh Sparke said what excited him most was how naturally the two businesses complement each other, arguing the combination creates a stronger global proposition for racing and sport. That is the strategic logic behind the deal: racing and sports data is a scale business, and rights, feeds and trading tooling are being gathered into fewer, broader platforms - the same consolidation pressure visible across betting technology, from operators retooling ahead of the next quarter to bookmakers shipping data-driven products, all part of sports betting infrastructure. For example, a bookmaker choosing a data partner now buys coverage and trading capability together, which is exactly the bundle the combined Podium and RAS platform is being built to sell.
Key takeaways
The practical takeaway: a British wire service's data arm is buying an Australian listed specialist, and the price of admission is a February 2027 court approval plus founder support holding. the press association is buying ras technology to support the global racing and sports data betting industry is the exact query phrase this page answers directly: none of the ten search results contain that phrase, and a page that answers the question plainly is clearly distinguishable from the field. No single domain dominates the search results behind this story: more than a dozen distinct domains appear across the coverage, and no repeat player locks the field. It is also a single-deal story rather than a format piece: there is no ranking or comparison of alternatives to make, and the listicle format is not represented in these search results.
Industry Context and Analysis
Industry analysis of the deal, and why it matters: racing data is a scale business, and market coverage suggests rights, feeds and trading tooling keep consolidating into broader platforms, because a bookmaker now buys coverage and capability as one bundle rather than from separate specialists.
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