The PlayUp Colorado sportsbook is no longer accepting bets as of Thursday morning, after its CEO requested the change about a week ago.
CEO Daniel Simic told Legal Sports Report on July 20 that he requested the Colorado sportsbook be put into “maintenance mode.” That request came a day after Simic found out PlayUp’s New Jersey sports betting license was revoked for multiple issues.
The shutdown means PlayUp no longer has an operating sportsbook in the US.
Why the wait to take PlayUp down?
The Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission has not offered much information about the situation, even after Simic made his request to shut down his Colorado site known to LSR.
Regulators did not respond to multiple requests for updates since Monday. That includes questions about whether PlayUp’s license is still in good standing or has been revoked.
PlayUp sale still pending?
Simic has not responded to messages from LSR since he responded about the Colorado shutdown request. That includes discussing the pending sale Simic first told LSR he had in the works with a listed company.
Terms of a sale of PlayUp US business should look different now considering the company no longer has New Jersey sports betting or iGaming licenses as assets.
Simic downplayed the seriousness of earning the first US sports betting license revocation since sports betting began expanding after the end of PASPA in 2018, saying “we simply have to resolve the issues at hand” to reapply for an NJ license.
But two of those issues include allegedly not paying payroll taxes and not having enough staff to operate, neither of which is a quick fix.
Employment payments also an issue
None of the New Jersey issues touch on paychecks, naturally one of the biggest one for former employees.
Multiple employees have not been paid by PlayUp for at least a month’s worth of work, sources told LSR.
