PointsBet wants out of the U.S.—out of the U.S. sports betting marketplace that is. Despite good intentions, the Australian-based company has failed to gain the kind of traction it hoped for and ranks as only the seventh-largest operator in the country.
Placing seventh is not in the ballpark so PointsBet is believed to have hired investment bank Moelis & Company to facilitate a sale of its North American operations, according to Front Office Sports.
“We believe further industry consolidation is inevitable,” PointsBet told the Australian Financial Review.
PointsBet held talks late last year with another Aussie firm, Betr, but the discussions never consummated. Last year, Fanatics also gave consideration, but nothing materialized.
PointsBet by the numbers:
- PointsBet posted $120 million in revenue for the second half of 2022—a 28% increase year-over-year. The increase is due to reduced marketing costs including renegotiating a marketing deal with NBCUniversal.
- The company also saved money by withdrawing its application in Massachusetts.
- The sportsbook is still live in 14 states.
- For the first half of the 2023 fiscal year, total sports betting handle exceeded $1.1 billion.
In related news, Golden Nugget Sportsbook also shuttered its mobile betting app as of April 26. Any open accounts will be inaccessible through the mobile app as of that date, according to Yogonet Gaming News.
The sportsbook promises a new mobile avenue in the future.
Customers may withdraw their mobile app balance in the brick and mortar sportsbook, but not unresolved bets. The unresolved bets will be graded and handled as they normally would. A paper ticket reprint of unresolved wagers placed on the app will be available at the retail sportsbook, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
If you have no unresolved bets and do not withdraw balances at the sportsbook, Golden Nugget will mail a check around July 1. Those with unresolved bets will be mailed checks within 60 days of the final resolution.
The company’s commitment to resolving all bets should be considered a positive sign for bettors in the future.
