Betfred announced Thursday that it will leave Arizona's mobile sports betting market effective Nov. 4, further reducing its footprint in the United States.
The U.K.-based operator stopped accepting bets in Colorado on Aug. 31, which came on the heels of it exiting Maryland and Ohio earlier this year. Betfred still has a mobile presence in Iowa, Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in Louisiana, Nevada and Washington State.
Despite Arizona being a top-seven market for sports betting handle nationally, Betfred is the fourth mobile sportsbook to leave the marketplace this year, joining WynnBET (February), Unibet (June) and Betway (June).
Betfred U.S. CEO Kresimir Spajcic had hinted at potential further downsizing earlier this summer when he told EGR that a full American exit was “on the table … if we don’t have enough value that we can create within the U.S.”
Struggle to Maintain Business Without Heavy Promo Spend
Betfred entered the Grand Canyon State in February 2022, reaching a peak monthly handle of $5.1 million last September. It has come nowhere near that figure in the first six months of 2024, totaling $14 million worth of wagers with a paltry 3.8% hold that has resulted in $532,500 in gross revenue.
Betfred had notably curtailed its known promotional spend this year with an outlay of $187,800 compared to $595,700 for all of 2023. Its known promotional spend in Arizona — the state's Department of Gaming does not provide a total amount if adjusted gross revenue is less than $0 — totaled more than $2.5 million, which was nearly 75% of its $3.4 million in gross revenue.
The sportsbook operator's highest handle for 2024 came in April at $3.8 million, but bettors also came out $50,400 ahead that month. That was Betfred's second-largest loss in 29 months of wagering through June, having also posted a loss of $79,800 in April 2023.
Betfred is tethered to the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, which means another mobile operator could assume that license. Arizona awarded two tribal-based licenses in August to Sporttrade and Plannatech via the Quechan Indian Tribe and San Carlos Apache Tribe, respectively.
