WynnBet announced late last week that the shuttering of its regulated sports betting operations in eight of its 12 US markets. The company is also considering shutting down WynnBet in two other states due to intense market competition and sky-high marketing costs. WynnBet is only the latest big name sportsbook to go down in flames as the US sports betting market slowly consolidates among an ever-shrinking list of major players.
As of this writing, WynnBet’s operations in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia are all slated for closure. WynnBet will remain in Nevada and Massachusetts, both states where the company maintains land-based casinos. The WynnBet sportsbook in Michigan is also closing but, for reasons that are not immediately clear, the WynnBet Casino will remain open in that state. The company’s New York operation is in limbo and may join the list of shuttered sportsbooks at any time.
Julie Cameron-Doe, Chief Financial Officer of Wynn Resorts described the reasoning behind the closures in a press release saying, “In light of the continued requirement for outsized marketing spend through user acquisition and promotions in online sports betting, we believe there are higher and better uses of capital deployment for Wynn Resorts shareholders.”
Cameron-Doe was more candid on an recent earnings call explaining to shareholders,“Sports betting’s a tough business. It’s about the game of commodity. They’re difficult businesses, but we’re very focused on managing this business. We’ve got a very long-term shareholder-friendly view on it.”
So far there’s no word on when a decision will be made on WynnBet’s New York operation.