Sports betting operators SportNation and RedZone have both announced their decision to leave the British market. The companies, both of which are owned by Esports Entertainment Group, cited a variety of factors as the reason for their leave.

SportNation and RedZone Will No Longer Take Bets

Existing SportNation and RedZone customers should rest easy as they will still be able to play normally until the end of the month. Following that, they will have a week to withdraw their funds. Starting December 7, the two sites will be officially closed.

After the eventual closure, customers will have an additional week to withdraw any sums larger than a pound. After that period has passed, the two sites will issue refunds of any customer balances left in accordance with the law and their own terms and conditions.

The two brands warned that they will keep customer data for five years after their respective sites have ceased operations.

The Market Hasn’t Been Easy on EEG

Esports Entertainment acquired both SportNation and RedZone in 2020, as part of its plans to expand its presence in the sports wagering sector. The group also owns Argyll Entertainment and its Fansbet brand, which it doesn’t plan to close, at least as of the time of this writing. On the same note, SportNation’s Malta-based site will continue operating normally.

While Esports Entertainment group doesn’t plan on closing the Fansbet brand, some customers noticed that the now-closing SportNation brand redirected them to FitzDares instead of to Fansbet.  

In the meantime, Esports Entertainment will likely continue focusing its resources on the Argyll brands, as announced in its latest FY annual report. Back when it published the report, the group also announced its intentions to tone down its marketing efforts and focus on customer retention instead.

At the beginning of 2022, Esports Entertainment posted its first revenue decline in over a year. While it looked as if the company is pretty stable, things quickly spiraled out of control and, by the summer, the company was unsure whether it would be capable to stay in business. The macroeconomic headwinds and the rising costs of living took their toll on the company and are a part of its reasons to close the SportNation and RedZone brands.

Esports Entertainment Group has been struggling to remain in business for a while now. While the company had significant revenues thanks to its sports betting and esports betting businesses, these revenues were offset by huge operating losses of almost $90 million.  For reference, the company’s revenue for the previous fiscal year sat at less than $60 million.