BetFred Committed to U.S. Sports Betting for Now, Unibet Ends Futures Bets

Unibet on Thursday told our own Thomas Somach they will slowly begin winding down their U.S. operations with procedures already in place.

"Unibet told me that they have stopped taking futures bets on events that will be decided after June," he advised us.

"So you can make futures bets on who will win the next Super Bowl but not on who will win the next World Series."

Kindred Group PLC, the Stockholm, Sweden-based parent company of Unibet, announced two weeks ago that the sportsbook will cease operations in the five U.S. states it operates in by the end of June, 2024, due to insufficient revenues in the American market.

Those states are Pennsylvania, Virginia, Arizona, New Jersey and Indiana.

Meanwhile, BetFred representatives insisted to Gambling911.com they were still committed to the Pennsylvania market following unconfirmed reports they were pulling out of operating the sportsbook at Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem by the end of this year.

Betfred stands as a widely favoured bookmaker in the United Kingdom, and its main features are quick withdrawal, partial cash-out option, free bets, and, of course, reputation, thanks to a presence in the UK market over an extended period.

BetFred Sportsbook has been around since 1967 (operating in the U.K.) but did not enter the United States market until it hit Colorado in September 2020. It is currently available in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

BetFred's market share in the state of Ohio was 7th lowest out of 20 books that operate there, reporting $1,711,329 in sports handle compared to the leader DraftKings at $258,703,955.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com