Betsson to exit US market by the end of September
Stockholm-listed operator confirms it will shutter the Betsafe brand in Colorado around two-and-a-half-years after the platform went live
Betsson is set to pull its US-facing B2C brand, Betsafe, from the Colorado market as the Stockholm-listed firm becomes the latest operator to exit the market.
The operator confirmed its intentions to shutter the brand in an email sent to players last week, with the mobile sportsbook app closing permanently on September 30.
Betsafe will no longer accept new customer registrations from September 6, while deposits into either new or existing accounts will no longer be approved from the same date.
New bets cannot be placed after September 16 and customers will be required to withdraw all funds by September 27.
All accounts will close in tandem with the sportsbook shutting down fully on September 30.
No details on bets that have already been placed or long-term futures were disclosed in the notice to customers.
The Betsafe note did push users to contact customer services should they have any questions regarding the closure.
Betsson launched the Betsafe brand in Colorado in March 2022 after a prolonged process for the company.
The operator had secured a 10-year deal with the Dostal Alley Casino in June 2020 to secure market access to the Centennial State.
However, the intervening period saw Betsson conduct extensive market research and pivot the tech stack the Betsafe brand would run on.
Ultimately, the operator elected to use the Betsafe brand as a B2B shop window for potential US-facing customers looking to expand into the online sports betting market.
Betsafe did not expand into other US states during its lifetime as a live brand, with the region not receiving a single mention in Betsson’s Q1 or Q2 earnings reports this year.
The Betsafe brand is still live in Ontario, Canada, keeping Betsson with a singular presence in North America.
The brand did secure a license for the newly regulated Peru market earlier this year, with Latam a core focus for Betsson.
Betsson becomes the second operator to announce an exit from Colorado in recent weeks, with BlueBet Holdings-owned ClutchBet also pulling out of the market.
The parent company made the decision to focus solely on its native Australian market, therefore leaving the US surplus to requirements.
A spokesperson for Betsson Group told EGR: “Betsson has decided to discontinue its B2C operations in Colorado (USA) at the end of September 2024. So, for the foreseeable future, we will not have any B2C offering in the US.
“As communicated initially, our B2C operations in Colorado served primarily to display our sportsbook for B2B purposes and to provide us with valuable first-hand insights into the dynamics of the US online sports betting market.”