The Nordic online gambling company Betsson AB has decided to make a significant reduction in its presence in the UK market.
On October 21st, the Stockholm-based operator made an official announcement that it was to reduce its current market presence in the UK to a single brand from nine brands operating under four licences on three different platforms. The brand that will remain operational, Rizk, was purchased from Gaming Innovation Group earlier in 2020 along with other gaming brands.
The Group is to hand three of its four licences back to the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) with immediate effect. Previously, one of these licences was subject to review carried out by the major gambling regulatory body of the country.
As revealed in the press release issued by Betsson, the withdrawal of the Nordic company’s eight brands that target British customers – Betsson, Betsafe, Guts, Casino Euro, Kaboo, Racebets, Jackpot247 and Live Roulette – would take immediate effect with no further bets or deposits to be accepted on their websites.
Apart from the one brand that is to remain operational in the UK, the other eight brands will remain as part of the company’s portfolio and will be used in other markets and therefore no write-down of trademark or goodwill will be necessary.
The Nordic Gambling Group to Consolidate UK Presence by Leaving Only One Brand There
As said in Betsson’s press release, the Nordic online gambling company has been reducing its market presence in the UK gradually over the last few years, including by UK office closure at the end of 2018.
As part of its strategy, Betsson has made a decision to consolidate its business in the country’s gambling market in order to focus on growing a single brand there. According to the Nordic gambling operator, this move will increase the efficiency of the brand and will have a beneficial effect on the contribution generated from its UK business.
Currently, the market share of Betsson in the UK is relatively small, with the revenues that are generated in the country representing approximately 3% of the overall revenue of the Group. The regulatory framework of the country has seen some major changes in the last few years, with these amendments often requiring considerable investments to be made by gambling companies, both in terms of regulatory compliance, marketing and technology, and such investments have not been considered sustainable with Betsson’s current setup in the UK.
Several UK-facing brands were acquired by Betsson via its NetPlay takeover in 2017. Unfortunately for the Nordic gambling group, that deal failed to produce the expected results and Betsson started reducing its marketing spend for the UK market in the following year. Later in 2018, it decided to transfer some NetPlay operations to Malta.
As mentioned above, the eight UK-facing brands that are to no longer be available to British customers ceased operations with effect from October 21st. Betsson pledged that it will repay all customers’ deposits and will pay out all outstanding bets as winning bets.
- Author
Olivia Cole
