It looks like the days of international betting giant bet365 slow-rolling its US entry are coming to an end.
According to a Denver Post report from last week, a UK-based sports betting and gaming company with more than 6,000 global employees is considering Denver, Nashville and Tucson, AZ, for its US headquarters. The details point to bet365 as that unspecified company.
The reported $40 million headquarters will house more than 800 new employees in 120,000 square feet of office space.
A bet365 spokesperson did not respond to LSR‘s requests for comment.
Is it definitely bet365?
Bet365 seems to be the best fit for the company described in the Denver Post story.
First, most UK-based gaming companies that have US operations already have a home base set up in the US. Most of these companies have too many employees, like BetMGM JV partner Entain and FanDuel parent Flutter, while smaller companies like SI Sportsbook parent 888 have under 6,000 employees.
A quick glance at the bet365 careers page answers that main question, though, noting it employs “more than 6,000 people across multiple offices all over the world.” The Denver Post notes that number includes some employees at a US office in New Jersey, which bet365 has had since 2019.
Denver offering big incentives
Nashville and Tucson will have to hand over a hefty bag of tax credits or incentives if they hope to convince bet365 to pick them over Denver.
The unspecified company from the Denver Post piece would receive $14 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits for building its headquarters in Denver.
While details may not be final, they could be closer than it seems, according to one quote in the Denver Post:
“We are excited about the opportunity to work in Denver and Colorado. It seems to be a great fit for us,” said an executive with Project Forge who provided only his first name, Richard.
Project Forge is the code name for the endeavor.
No expected bet365 VA update
The Virginia Lottery Board typically offers a gaming update with market share and promotions broken down by operator. Those quarterly meetings are the only time the public gets a peek into how operators are doing in the state because VA sports betting reports only provide totals.
That update did not come at Wednesday’s meeting, though. A spokesperson told LSR the updated was not scheduled because of a casino license approval process for Caesars, which took multiple hours.
Those gaming updates should remain a regular part of the board’s monthly meetings, the spokesperson confirmed. The next monthly meeting is scheduled for July 12.
Another look into bet365’s operations is in Ohio, where the monthly reports do break out share and promotions by operator. Ohio should report its March figures by the end of the week, which will show if bet365 again grew handle and promo share month-over-month.
