Professional bull riding has opened itself up to gambling in Australia for the first time and signed several television deals in an attempt to revive its 2020 season.
Most of Australia's rodeos have been cancelled this year with crowd restrictions making it not feasible to put them on.
But earlier this year, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) signed a deal with a gambling company and sports app and used the platforms to broadcast its events.
PBR general manager Glen Young said putting the sport in front of punters had been his dream for the past 20 years.
"They've been gambling on it in Las Vegas for decades," Mr Young said.
"It's a sport that's very interesting to watch and at the same time you can now have a punt on it."
Mr Young said he was not worried about the negative impact of betting, as the Australian gambling industry was heavily regulated.
"It's monitored very closely and you've got to gamble responsibly. We're always delivering that message," he said.
"[The companies] have got to have a responsibility to keep it all contained and keep it all compliant."
Crowds starting to come back
While the television and gambling deals have given the sport a reprieve, Mr Young said crowds were needed to make the event profitable.
"It's not about making a profit this year, it's about staying operational," he said.
In recent months, the PBR circuit has started to welcome back crowds. With COVID-19 restrictions beginning to ease in Queensland, some competitors from New South Wales and Victoria have quarantined to get back in to the sport.
Rodeo stock contractor Darren Brandenburg, who normally takes a team of riders to events across Australia, has been driving machinery in the north-west Queensland town of Richmond this year.
He said the televised events had been a help.
"It's pretty hard at the moment with all of the restrictions, and the limited amount of people certainly makes it hard to make a bit of money," he said.
"We've got a couple of guys who come up early on from Victoria."
Mr Brandenburg said while the televised events were filling the void for the time being, there was nothing like having a crowd at a rodeo.
"The people who are missing it are the local towns, the local pubs, and grocery stores," he said.
"They don't have these events that actually bring a lot of money in."
