Amelco CEO: Offshore bettors aren’t coming back

US gamblers currently betting offshore are unlikely to switch back to legal offerings, according to the CEO of sportsbook platform Amelco, Paul Manning.

Speaking to EGR Manning said: “My view might be different from some others in that I don’t think those bettors will come back.

“Would it be good to get offshore customers back? Yeah. Is the success of America going to depend on that? I don’t think so.”

The exec, whose firm provides services to The Stars Group’s BetStars brand in the US, said the legal market would be just fine without those bettors however, adding: “The next generation will naturally go to the legal sportsbooks.”

Amelco CEO Paul Manning believes offshore bettors can’t be won over by legalized offerings

Offshore sites currently have several advantages over regulated rivals including lower costs allowing them to offer better odds, and the ability to offer betting on credit.

Manning also said he expects in-play markets will take off eventually and sportsbooks will start to look more like their UK counterparts.

“There is a much bigger appetite for multiples [in the US]. A lot of it is also pre-match, but that maybe stems from what they Us customers experienced before, whereas what we have seen in the UK over the last 10 years is that in-play has become the bulk of the product,” Manning added.

“That is a major difference, although I’m sure it will take off in America eventually.”

It is though TSG will ultimately move off the Amelco platform once its in-house global sports technology platform is completed and the firm transitions its BetStars brand into FOX Bet.

You can read the entire Q&A with Manning here.