Bet365 is waiting at least another couple of months before launching in its second US state, according to its partner.
Century Casinos Co-CEO Peter Hoetzinger confirmed to LSR the previously reported second-quarter launch window for bet365 will be missed: “The new launch date is, most likely, Sep 1st.”
That means one of the largest sportsbooks in the world plans to launch sports betting in Colorado just seven days before regular season NFL betting starts with the season opener.
Bet365 busy, just not in US
Bet365 has focused elsewhere in recent months instead of the booming US sports betting market.
The operator became the first official sports betting partner of the PGA Tour outside the US just last week. The deal covers the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and the expanding Canada sports betting market.
Prior to that, the brand worked to switch from gray to regulated operator and launched with other regulated Ontario sportsbooks in April.
Crucial customer acquisition window missed
It is unclear why bet365 is waiting to launch in Colorado. Hoetzinger did not elaborate beyond the Sept. 1 date and bet365 did not respond to a request for comment.
Bet365 received its temporary sports betting license from Colorado regulators at the December 2021 meeting.
The delay means missing about two months that could be used to acquire customers before NFL and college football betting kick off in September.
US operators waiting for next bet365 move
While bet365 is one of the biggest sportsbooks in the world, it is taking its time on a US rollout. The company is live in New Jersey and tried to enter New York, but regulators did not see economic benefit in adding a license while dropping its tax rate 1 percentage point to 50%.
That miss came a few years after bet365 invested $50 million into NY casino operator Empire Resorts for market access. That deal was essentially washed out by the framework former Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed onto the market.
“Bet365 is the biggest enigma in sports betting,” one US sportsbook exec told LSR in February. “Here is the one company that could seriously come in and compete on the top tier. They’ve got limitless cash flow coming in from every corner of the globe. And yet they have done almost nothing in the US.”
