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Bet365 has been making gains in multiple US jurisdictions in of its share of the online sports wagering market and a new report could mean bet365 will have access to more financial resources to accelerate that growth. The private owner of bet365, the Coates family of the United Kingdom, is exploring offering up stakes in bet365 according to the report.
While negotiations between the Coates family and interested parties might be ongoing, online casino space. It is not among the revenue leaders in New Jersey or Pennsylvania and is absent entirely from Michigan at this time.
Bet365 could take on investors or come under new ownership
Rob Davies and Anna Isaac of The Guardian broke the news on Thursday that Denise Coates, who controls over 58% of the interest in bet365, is considering all angles when it comes to the ownership of bet365. While bet365 has yet to confirm the report, Davies and Isaac state that Coates is considering everything from the sale of multiple minority stakes to a complete sale of the entire company.
Bet365 has been a major force in gambling in Europe, especially within the narrower scope of legal sports wagering in the UK. In the UK, it is a dominant brand for online betting especially.
In the United States, it has enjoyed unique success for a gambling brand based in Europe. There is still a lot of room for bet365 to grow, though.
Bet365 gaining momentum in US sports betting
While bet365 offers online sports wagering only in more US states, it pairs that with iGaming in just two: New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company’s ascent up the pecking order for sports wagering has been more successful than its online casino presence in those markets to date.
In March, bet365 reported the sixth-highest taxable revenue total from sports wagering in New Jersey while in Pennsylvania, bet365 partner Presque Isle Downs reported the seventh-highest sports betting revenue total for the same month. For March, bet365’s revenue from iGaming placed it 13th out of 28 New Jersey operators and Presque’s winnings placed it 10th out of 12 Pennsylvania licensees.
Davies’ and Isaac’s reporting suggests that bet365 could use new capital from sales of stakes to accelerate that growth. The three “big iGaming states” of Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania might be a good place to start a new push.
New investment might spur marketing barrage
As Davies and Isaac allude to, gaining market share in New Jersey and Pennsylvania will be expensive for bet365. Expenses could come from marketing, more product investment, and a ramping up of player bonuses, especially new player benefits.
If bet365 wants to make a play for Michigan, that could get costly, too. Michigan law requires online casino operators to partner with a land-based gaming licensee or a tribal casino operator.
Two of the three commercial casinos in Detroit have their own endemic online gambling brands while the other has an existing relationship with FanDuel. Additionally, nearly all the available tribal casino partners also have contracts with partners for online gaming at this time.
Buying a competitor out of that partnership to take its place would likely represent a significant multiplier of the revenue it expects to take in from one of three most valuable states for online gambling in the US. At the same time, if bet365 is serious about being a top-five brand in the US iGaming field, it can’t afford to have no presence in Michigan.
It’s also possible that Coates could be reading the tea leaves of how much capital it will take to get a desired double-digit share of that market and leaning toward deciding that it’s easier to sell and leave that to new ownership. As no transactions are reportedly pending at this juncture, it’s also possible that Coates is simply putting out feelers for her return on the business.
Should bet365 take on investors or change hands, it could signal a new push for a bigger cut of the pie in the US for the brand. bet365’s past efforts in that regard have seen some success.
