Prominent offshore bookmaker Betcris launching in Arizona
Powered by Plannatech, the well-known brand among serious bettors is currently allowing the opening of accounts in the Grand Canyon State
High-volume, low-margin bookmaker Betcris is to make its debut in Arizona later this week, it has been announced by the company behind the brand’s US entry.
Bettors in Arizona can sign up for a Betcris account via the website az.betcris.com or its iOS app, although the product isn’t yet live.
As part of a brand licensing deal, the sportsbook will be powered by Plannatech, the same company that provides odds and risk management for Prime Sports, a stripped-back operation catering to those looking for tight lines and high limits.
Plannatech also provides tech and oddsmaking for Betcris in internatonal markets.
With pledge to take all kinds of action, including arbs, and not ban or limit customers, Prime Sports is live New Jersey and Ohio. The company also holds a license in Kentucky but is yet to launch in the state.
Plannatech COO Adam Bjorn confirmed on X that the process to roll out Betcris in Arizona had been “in the works for a bit over a year.”
Plannatech has been awarded a B2C license by the regulator in Arizona to facilitate the launch, while market access has been secured via a partnership struck with the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Confirmation of Plannatech’s Arizona licensure came in August last year.
Responding on X to a query as to whether Betcris’ odds will mirror that of Prime Sports, Bjorn said prices will be “very similar, if not the same, unless there is a particular position that needs mitigation and the need for specialized pricing.”
Betcris, which started out nearly 40 years as a call center bookmaker in the Caribbean, stopped accepting US customers in 2007, yet it maintained its reputation in Central and South America among high rollers for its Pinnacle-style bookmaking. The brand also entered Poland in 2021.
In 2020, the Costa Rica-based operator became the NFL’s first official betting partner for the Latam region.
Betcris will join around a dozen online sportsbooks in Arizona, including the industry’s usual suspects such as FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and bet365.
Figures released by the Arizona Department of Gaming on January 8 showed bettors in the state wagered around $791m in October 2024, a 22% increase on the same month in 2023.
When asked by one X user if Plannatech and Betcris would be entering other US states, Bjorn responded by saying: “To be frank, I want every state.” Yet he followed that up by outlining the challenges of state-by-state regulation.
“Unfortunately, legislators, [the] Wire Act, needing to stand up a full [tech] stack in every state, and some ridiculous taxes on sports betting, which is now a low-margin gaming product, makes it hard to look beyond what’s on hand right now.”
He added: “I’d love to be everywhere, and hopefully we will be at some point in some capacity. We are in this for the long haul.”
Besides Betcris and Prime Sports, the only other high-volume, low-margin bookmaker in the US is Circa Sports. The product is live in Nevada, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, and Kentucky
Pinnacle doesn’t have a presence in the US, although it is a licensed operator in Ontario.