Betfred Sportsbook May Consider USA Exit: Report

By Bill Speros

Aug 16th, 2024 7:23 PM EDT

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The hyper-competitive USA legal sports betting market may soon claim its latest victim. 

Betfred could completely exit the country within the year if it doesn’t find a path to greater profitability.

Betfred stopped taking wagers in Maryland on July 14, and in Ohio a month later. It plans to cease operations in Colorado on August 31. 

Once that happens, its sports betting app will only be available in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Virginia. 

The company’s CEO told EGR that it could further curtail its operations in the United States. 

“We are definitely trying but there are no promises, and I think it will boil down to whether can you make yourself a sustainable business,” Betfred USA CEO Kresimir Spajic told EGR. He hinted that some pending “groundbreaking projects” and changes in the company’s existing partnerships would be pivotal in determining its future here. 

Timetable Could Mean Decision By End Of 2024

Those decisions could well be made by the end of the year. 

“I truly believe that my team and I can create a sustainable business. The question is can you make a business profitable enough to make sense to continue operating in the US versus putting this effort and investment somewhere else that might yield a bigger return?”

Mergers, pullbacks, and exits have rattled the sports betting space across the U.S. since the start of 2023. Penn Entertainment dropped Barstool for ESPN Bet. Fanatics bought PointsBet’s holdings in the U.S. Tipico was sold to LeoVegas. And WynnBET, SuperBook Sports, MaximBET, Fubo Sportsbook, and FOX Bet have all joined the departed, or soon-to-be departed. Betway, meanwhile, will soon move to casino-only online. 

The Betfred CEO hinted at “further downsizing” in more states if the Betfred app continues to struggle. The company has retail betting sites in Nevada, Washington, and Louisiana. 

“In other states, we are doing the same that we’ve been doing in Maryland and Ohio, trying to basically reassess our position, renegotiate some of the old agreements, and seeing if we can find a sustainable and profitable path,” Spajic  said.

About the Author

Bill Speros

More About Bill

Bill is an award-winning journalist and editor whose career includes stops at USA Today Sports Network / Golfweek, Cox Media, ESPN, Orlando Sentinel and Denver Post. He's been covering the North American regulated gambling market for almost a decade and has his finger on the pulse for all industry news involving sportsbooks, online casinos, prediction markets and more. Bill placed his first bet at age 11, and his first job was as a paper boy delivering the Boston Herald and Boston Globe. By age 16, he was playing blackjack and getting comped drinks on the Las Vegas Strip. When home, his weekend rotation included trips to Wonderland Greyhound Park and Raynham Greyhound Park. After 30 years in legacy media, Bill wedded his passion for journalism and storytelling with a lifetime of wagering by working at Gambling.com.