Betsson Pulls Out of the UK Market

Recently, the UK betting market has been tough to negotiate for many top betting sites. The UKGC has made a number of changes recently and is known for being one of the toughest in the world. Alongside the worry around Brexit negotiations, this has put a strain on a number of online betting sites and casinos, and as such, a number have started reducing their presence in the UK – and some have even pulled out of the UK market almost entirely. This includes Swedish iGaming giants, Betsson. Betsson has just put out a statement confirming that they will be pulling eight out of their nine brands out of the UK market immediately.

And Then There Was One

Before this move was decided, Betsson had a very busy brand strategy within the UK – this included nine different brands on three different platforms regulated under four separate licenses. They have now packed it all into just one single brand. The brand remaining, Rizk, was previously owned by Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) but was acquired by Betsson at the start of 2020 along with three other brands. The brands that have been pulled include: Betsson, Betsafe, CasinoEuro, Guts, Jackpot247, Kaboo, Live Roulette and RaceBets. They are already now officially out of the UK – and they will no longer take any more UK based deposits or bets. However, customers that have already invested have been advised that any outstanding bets will be paid out as winning bets.

A Tough Time

Even though the UK market accounted for such a small percentage, the market has become so strict that it had started taking up more time and money than it was actually worth to the company. As such, it started to be more of a hindrance than a help to the Betsson Group. As it stood, remaining in the UK market as it was must not sustainable long term. Now, this new strategy will help the company to increase its efficiency and enable growth in more profitable markets.

Back in 2017, Bettson acquired NetPlay, with a focus on the UK market. However, this was not as successful as originally hoped and it never produced the expected returns. As such, in 2018 it performed a U-turn and started dropping UK spends.

The iGaming industry has been tough in the UK recently and this is a sign of what is happening. It would be unsurprising if other European gaming companies followed suit in the near future.