Colorado has long been the testing ground for small or alternative sports betting operators in the US. But SI Sportsbook is now the seventh platform in about a year to announce that it is exiting the state.
The last 12 to 18 months have seen more contraction than expansion in the wagering world. No US jurisdiction in 2024 has expanded gambling, whether that be sports betting or online casino. In November, Missouri voters could approve legal wagering. If they do, Missouri will be the only state this year to legalise. If they do not, 2024 will go down as the first year since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was overturned during which no US locales legalised.
Legislators from Georgia to Minnesota tried again in 2024 to legalise digital wagering, but ran into a variety of issues from moral objections to trying to tie legal wagering to other issues like video lottery terminals to managing charitable or tribal gaming.
Choices dwindling
Even in states where online sports betting is legal, consumers may be seeing a shrinking selection. Or a round-robin of options as one operator launches and another shutters. Colorado bettors may have experienced the worst of it. Since the summer of 2023, Betfred, Betsafe, ClutchBet, Novig, SuperBook and WynnBet all exited or are exiting the state. SI Sportsbook is the third Colorado platform in a month to announce it is shuttering.
“In any industry there’s and ebb and flow,” Las Vegas-based consultant Brendan Bussmann told iGB. “This has happened with land operators and to see it happen with sports betting and online gambling, it’s nots surprising. But you also (eventually) see resurgence as we’ve seen in DFS… Sleepr, Underdog, PrizePicks. Where were they five years ago as compared to today? People will say that they were operating in an illegal way, but DraftKings and FanDuel got kicked out of Nevada 10 years ago,” and now are thriving elsewhere.
In the last 30 days, three operators stopped taking bets in Colorado. Betfred stopped taking bets on 31 August, ClutchBet took its last bets on 16 September and Betsafe stopped taking deposits on 6 September. That site plans to shut down on 30 September.
In that same span, Sporttrade launched.
“There is always room for smaller operations that want to innovate and compete in a meaningful way,” Bussmann of B Global said. “Those that want to innovate will thrive, those that don’t and repeat what exists out there will wither.”
Betfred leaving Arizona, too
SI Sportsbook made its announcement on the carousel of its homepage. The company shuttered on Thursday (18 September) with no notice. The announcement includes the shutdown date, a notice that deposits are disabled and sends consumers to “support” to get questions answered.
SI Sportsbook appears to remain live in Michigan and Virginia, down from a high of more than 10 live US jurisdictions in 2023. Colorado, at its peak, had about 30 live platforms. That number has dwindled to fewer than 20.
Betfred, which is live in three US states, announced 19 September that it is shutting down its Arizona platform, effective 4 November. The company wrote that it stopped taking deposits, wagers and new registrations on 19 September. Any balances not withdrawn or transferred by 10pm local time on 4 November will be issued as a paper check and mailed to customers. Betfred shuttered platforms in Maryland and Ohio earlier this year.
