The American Dream: European sportsbooks continue to target the US market

By Nick Allen

The decision by the US Senate to remove its constitutional ban on sports betting in 2018 generated an enormous amount of excitement throughout the gambling industry. In Europe, where sportsbooks were operating in highly competitive markets, the opportunity to move into the largest market in the world was something that few wanted to miss out on.

The nature of US federal law meant that each state had to initiate its legislative process to legalize sports betting. A few states immediately opened up their markets, others are still in that process, and many have either voted down changes or have yet to start.

This process has frustrated many sports bettors in the country but it has helped several sportsbooks by providing them with more time to adjust to an entirely new market. This fact has helped several European sportsbooks which have been able to prepare a new product for the US and roll it out one state at a time. To have had to launch a nationwide product would have been a mammoth task, after all just a state like New Jersey is equivalent in population size to markets like Sweden or Portugal, only with significantly less competition.

US-based companies, such as FanDuel and DraftKings took advantage of their existing customer base (through their daily fantasy sports product) claiming top spots in the first states to legalize online sports betting, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Indiana.

These two online sportsbooks have dominated the sports betting market in the US so far, in part because they are well-known brands but also because they had the technology and infrastructure to launch a sports betting app early. However, the latter point has also played into the hands of European brands who have often had two decades of experience when it comes to betting online.

Since 2018, several large European sportsbooks have launched in the US. Perhaps the most high profile of these was Bet365, which recently launched in New Jersey. Others include Swedish owned Unibet who have now launched two products in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

William Hill, the British sportsbook founded in 1934 was already established in Las Vegas when the federal bill was reversed in 2018 but has now launched online products in several states including Iowa and New Jersey.

888Sport, based in Gibraltar; a British overseas territory located on Spain's southern coast was one of the first online sportsbooks to launch in the US when the Nevada Gaming Commission granted them a license in 2013. Nevada's interpretation of 'online betting' differs from other states in that it requires in-person signups, deposits and withdrawals. Since the Federal ruling, 888Sport has heavily invested in it's New Jersey product. This year 888Sport NJ signed a sponsorship with the New Jersey Jets.

Betfred, a British sportsbook that is smaller in comparison to both Bet365 and William Hill, has chosen a slightly different strategy. Rather than launch in the states which have the most established market, such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana, the sportsbook has decided it would be easier to carve out some market share in Colorado; a less mature market.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes