Bet365’s entry into the Boulder State has been delayed – “most likely” to September 1 with no additional information being shared yet about possible reasons for the delay.
10-year Partnership Bet365, Century Casinos on Hold
Back in 2020, bet365 announced its ten-year partnership with Century Casinos, marking the opportunity for bet365 to become the sixth sports betting operator in the Boulder State. The initial operations launch date was slated for this quarter, but Century Co-CEO Peter Hoetzinger said in a statement that “The new launch date is, most likely, September 1,” as the LSR reported.
No details about the pushback were issued, but the new date is close to the NFL season kickoff. This means not only that roughly two months’ worth of clients will be missed, but the British-based online gambling behemoth will have approximately only one week to attract early NFL and college football bettors. There’s an agreement in the initial 10-year deal for a guaranteed minimum annual revenue. Furthermore, bet365 needs to fulfill a set net gaming revenue percentage every year. Both of these factors contribute further to the importance of this delay.
The entire reason for the Century partnership was that both parties are looking at positive growth trajectories. Bet365 is by far the most recognizable sports betting name in Europe and a US expansion makes perfect sense. As for Century, back in April 2020 it announced pinning two out of three Sports Betting Master Licenses in Colorado, the third one going to Circa Sports Colorado LLC.
Bet365 Slow on US Rollouts, Focus Elsewhere
As of right now, bet365 is active in New Jersey, with its New York operations still not being approved by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC). Back in April this year, the NYSGC announced it would be licensing bet365, as including the British gaming operator in the shortlist of licensees, would see dropping the gaming tax from 51% to 50%, and it wasn’t clear if the move would’ve resulted in a net benefit to the state. This came as a bit of unexpected and unpleasant news, as bet365 had already invested $50 million in the New York casino operator Empire Resorts. With the new delay in its Colorado launch, it’s clear that bet365 is probably busy elsewhere, not in the US.
Earlier this month, the bet365 and PGA Tour partnership was announced. Bet365 will be the Official Betting Operator (OBO) for the PGA tour through 2025, making it the first OBO of the series that’s outside of North America. Being the OBO means bet365 will be the exclusive provider of odds for both player pages, as well as leaderboards of the tour. The same goes for TOURCast – PGA Tour’s own platform for providing 3D renders of the golf courses, which will be available in the Australian and Irish markets, as well as at bet365’s home UK market. A spokesperson at bet365 shared:
The bet365 group is delighted to be working with one of the most iconic brands in global sport. Throughout this partnership with PGA TOUR, bet365 will strive to continue delivering a market-leading in-play experience to our golf customers, both across our global sites and the PGA TOUR platforms.”
This will provide bet365 with a huge brand presence with the name appearing on all PGA Tour media domains. Being named OBO of the PGA Tour means bet365 will be joining other top-grade sports betting operators, such as theScore Bet, DraftKings, and other prominent industry names.