marathon ,” says consultant Brendan Bussmann of BGlobal . “ I think the challenge is if you are a small operator who is competing in an environment regardless of whether you are where you think you need be , and being outspent by the larger operators .”
For the five operators that shut down all or most of their U . S . operations in 2024 , Bussmann appears to be on the money . WynnBet pulled out of eight U . S . markets in August 2023 , and completed its non-Nevada exit in Massachusetts earlier this year . The company cited the high cost of customer acquisition as a key factor in the decision .
For SuperBook , quick expansion was in part predicated on being able to offer its NFL SuperContests in other states . Due to regulatory issues , that concept never came to fruition and in July , after four years of rapid expansion , the company said it was unable to capture market share and would return to focusing on its Las Vegas retail locations and platform . It shut down eight platforms .
Betway , owned by SuperBook , also announced in July that it was pulling back on U . S . operations . The company was live in nine U . S . jurisdictions , saying it could not see a path to profitability .
SI Sportsbook is the most recent to announce its withdrawal , which is still in progress . Unibet announced its withdrawal late in 2023 , saying it could not compete against the U . S . market leaders . The company completed its exit in 2024 .
For consumers , there are fewer and fewer choices . And though not tangible , it ’ s also possible that innovation will slow down as the number of companies competing for customers shrinks .
“ There will always be innovations coming from other groups along the way , but the biggest profitability for the consumer is consistent competition , whether that is three players or a dozen ,” Bussmann says . “ Competition drives innovation .”
Amid the exodus , Betr , the microbetting wagering site backed by MMA star Jake Paul , is growing incrementally . It is live in two states with plans for more , despite pulling out of Massachusetts early in the year . Sporttrade , which offers stock-market-style trading in some jurisdictions , is now live in five U . S . states . And Underdog Sports , which has a massive fantasy sports business as well , launched in North Carolina in March . The company is licensed in Ohio and has market access in several other legal states , and has also chosen a methodical approach .
“ Look at who has survived or at least said , ‘ Hey … here are our core markets and this is where we are going to compete ’ vs . saying , ‘ Hey , here ’ s a new market , we ’ re going to go compete ,’” Bussmann says . “ If those that have withdrawn had said , ‘ Hey , there are three markets that I think work ; I ‘ m going go be in those ,’ then they would still be around .” — Jill R . Dorson
6
All You Need Is Self-Exclusion
Responsible gaming practices need to focus on those being harmed
Afew years ago , I was at a dinner party and soon after learning what I did for a living , someone I had just met volunteered to me that he was in the casino self-exclusion program . He said that he had unsuccessfully tried to stop gambling on his own and that self-exclusion was the only thing that could have helped him with his gambling . He was probably right .
Responsible gambling interventions tend to focus ideas that seem sensible . Pop-up messages that interrupt focus and encourage breaks , pre-commitment tools that let players limit their spend , on-site staff who specialize in answering questions about gaming myths … these best practices all make intuitive sense .
But when we look at the evidence , the only operator-led solution that shows a measurable effect on gambling problems is self-exclusion . Everything else seems to be too small to matter or too hard to measure . Meanwhile , the results of self-exclusion are incredible . In just six months , we can see that excluders will fall from being well within high-risk categories of gambling problems to , on average , lowrisk individuals with minimal urges to gamble and high reported self-control over their gambling .
Now of course , other things matter . Prevalence rates of gambling problems have been falling for decades at levels that cannot be explained by self-exclusion enrollment alone . Something else impacts player health — and maybe it ’ s everything in combination — but looking at the evidence that we have today , it ’ s hard to say that regulators or operators should focus on anything else until they have produced a well-managed self-exclusion program .
The “ well-managed ” part of that sentence should not be taken for granted . From research I have read and been a part of , here are a few insights about the importance of excellence in execution :
• On-site marketing matters : Of all the places where excluders report hearing about the program , four out of five will have included literature from inside the casino . That ’ s more than friends , family , help lines , Gamblers Anonymous and treatment providers , combined . Program marketing should be more than a brochure at the rewards desk . Everyone who walks in the door should have enough awareness to understand the basics of how the program works .
• The network size matters : The most used strategy for violators of self-exclusion is to just go to a different location . To be effective , programs must be cross-operator , and ideally , cross-border .
• Effective enforcement matters : Excluders that attempt to gamble while in the program and get caught immediately have outcomes that look like people who never tried to gamble , while those who don ’ t get caught the first time they try to gamble show effectively no improvements from enrolling . Whether it ’ s facial recognition , mandatory ID checks , or just knowledgeable staff , there needs to be a barrier that keeps excluders out .
While some markets execute on these programs well , today the United States is mostly an unfortunate patchwork of unknown , ineffective and / or absent programs . Fixing this should be highest priority for every regulator and operator in the country . Operators in the same state need to address technical and operational issues to integrate and enforce their programs , regulators need to solve policy issues to enable programs that cross state lines , and some places like Nevada — Nevada ’ s selflimit program allows enrollees to opt out of direct marketing programs at individual casinos but does not restrict gambling access — should actually create an exclusion program .
As an industry that is often torn between a balance of preserving individual choice against improving public health , perfecting self-exclusion is the most obvious area in which to invest . It empowers gamblers to make positive binding choices for their futures , but it does not inhibit or adversely impact other players in any material way . Self-exclusion is an incredible solution , unique to the gaming industry , and it deserves far more attention . — Dr . Kahlil Philander is an Assistant Professor in the School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University .
DECEMBER 2024 www . ggbmagazine . com 23