Jackpotjoy launches sports betting in the UK ahead of Euro 2024

Bally’s-owned Jackpotjoy has expanded its product offering by rolling out a sportsbook for its website and mobile apps in the UK market.

As a legacy bingo and online casino brand, this is Gibraltar-headquartered Jackpotjoy’s first foray into sports betting since the site launched back in 2002.

Jackpotjoy, which is operated by Bally’s-owned Gamesys Group, now features a ‘sports’ tab at the top of the web page, while the sportsbook can be accessed on the iOS and Android apps via its own icon at the bottom of the screen.

The Kambi-powered sportsbook features the supplier’s usual menu of pre-match and in-play betting options, as well as a carousel of pre-packaged accumulators and bet builders positioned prominently on the homepage.

With Euro 2024 kicking off on 14 June, and Copa America and the Olympics just around the corner, the packed sporting calendar provides Jackpotjoy a prime opportunity to cross-sell existing customers into sports, as well as generate an additional revenue stream.

The product expansion could mean the Bally’s brand itself introduces sports betting in the UK after management announced in May on an earnings call that a 2024 rollout would be coming “soon”.

Last year, the company’s online casino, Bally Casino, made its debut in the UK and ended 2023 with record high revenue after migrating from its predecessor, Megaways Casino.

Despite a 4.4% year-on-year (YoY) decline in Q1 2024 revenue for Bally’s International Interactive arm, the UK division has provided a boost for the group, with revenue up 12% in the quarter in US dollars.

Speaking to investors and analysts on the Q1 earnings call, Robeson Reeves, CEO of Rhode Island-based Bally’s, said the UK “continued to perform exceptionally well” and was the company’s “most robust market”.

Bally’s estimates its UK igaming market share to be approximately 15%, while its share of the slots segment alone is thought to be around 17%.

The UK accounted for 68% of the firm’s International Interactive revenue for the first three months of the year, Bally’s revealed.

Bally Bet is live in seven US states with Kambi after the operator last year shelved its in-house sportsbook built from the $125m acquisition in 2021 of sports betting platform Bet.Works and its proprietary tech stack.

Reeves, who replaced Lee Fenton as CEO in 2023, admitted to EGR in an exclusive interview last year that, in hindsight, the Bet.Works acquisition was a misstep as he laid out plans for Bally Bet.

Both Bally’s and Kambi did not respond to EGR‘s request for comment on the Jackpotjoy sportsbook launch.