Unibet will end its run as a sportsbook operator in Iowa by year’s end. The company only set up shop in September 2021, and was poised to succeed during the football season.
But parent company Kindred said the brand was unable to take enough share of the market. For the 13 months of operation, Unibet took in only 0.2 percent of the handle and 0.5 percent of revenue.
Kindred has not given up, but will concentrate on states with online casino access as well, CEO Henrik Tjärnström told investors during the third-quarter call.
Is this a premonition of things to come when it involves smaller operators competing with the big boys?
When it comes to states without online access, operators cannot afford to give away promotional dollars to woo players.
The handle declined almost 5 percent in September compared to a year ago and Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Administrator Brian Ohorilko told LSR that he believes there have been fewer promotional dollars spent.
Yet Colorado and Virginia enjoyed record revenue and taxes in September after altering the way operators may deduct promotional dollars. Virginia allowed deductions from taxable revenue for the first 12 months only. That meant just $1.7 million was deducted in promos for the month compared to $17.4 million last September.
Colorado lowered the percentage of taxable revenue operators can deduct. Yet promotional activity stayed constant. Operator deductions were $18.5 million in September and $19.8 million last year.
Both Virginia and Colorado experienced increases in handle, up 40 percent in Virginia over last September and up 10.3 percent in Colorado.
