theScore Bet Leaving the United States
Online sports betting news in the United States usually involves new states or sportsbooks preparing to launch, but that isn’t the case this week. One online sportsbook, theScore Bet, has announced that it will be pulling out of the United States market entirely.
This shutdown will officially take place on July 1, 2022, but some of the online sportsbooks have already started to phase out. This has happened due to the fact that theScore Bet was not able to be extremely competitive in the U.S.
TheScore Bet was available in four markets across the United States, but Ontario now provides a better opportunity for the company. This transition also comes on the heels of Penn National Gaming acquigin theScore Bet.
This company is based out of Toronto, and Ontario is a much more natural fit now that single-game wagering is available in Canada. TheScore Bet will still have to compete with other big name sportsbooks in Ontario, but it has built up a bigger brand in that company.
Online sports betting in Ontario officially started in April, but it’s unclear how theScore Bet has performed up to this point. TheScore did already have a massive following in Canada as it was a sports app that had the most downloads throughout the country.
Barstool Now the Focus
This decision by theScore Bet will not hurt Penn National’s role in the online sports betting industry, and it could actually provide a boost. Penn National also has a large stake in Barstool and the Barstool Sportsbook app has continued to see some growth.
As theScore Bet has announced its plans to leave the U.S. it also urged customers to transition to the Barstool Sportsbook. Barstool is live in 12 states throughout the United States, and it has been much more successful.
Barstool and theScore Bet were available in four of the same states, and all of the sports betting will soon be consolidated to just one single app. Customers that want to make the switch will have to sign up for a new account with Barstool before wagers can be placed.
Other Companies Cutting Losses
International sports betting operators continue to try to break into the United States, and this is also a market that has some big names. BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel continue to dominate the online sports betting scene, and it’s causing other companies to lose money.
William Hill sold it’s company to Caesars in 2021 and that allowed Caesars to make a big push throughout the U.S. industry. Even though Caesars has become a big name, that company has decided to cut spending and limit promotions.
Churchill Downs is also giving up on online sports betting as it has shut down its TwinSpires app throughout the country. TwinSpires actually replaced BetAmerica as the online wagering brand, but it didn’t prove to be successful.
