Are UK gambling companies like bet365 leaving for the US market?

It appears that UK gambling companies are eyeing up the US more than ever before.

Since the pandemic, gambling has seen a big boom, thanks in large part to smartphones making it easier than ever to place a bet from anywhere. UK gambling companies have ridden that wave, with many of their stock prices surging past pre-COVID levels. A big part of that excitement is the US.

With more and more US states legalising sports betting and online gambling, UK operators see huge potential across the Atlantic. They’ve already made major inroads, but now the focus seems to be shifting even more.

Could bet365 be leaving the UK for the US? There has been talks over whether bet365 will sell. Credit: ReadWrite / bet365

Take bet365, for example, a UK powerhouse in online and in-play betting. Reports in early May suggested that the Coates family, who own the company, are considering a partial or even full sale of the business, which could be worth as much as £9 billion ($12 billion).

In March, bet365 announced it was pulling out of remote gambling operations in China. Digital betting is illegal there, and the risks for users are serious, including potential prison time.

Given that the company had long maintained a significant remote presence in China, this move was a major turning point. Some industry watchers even saw it as a hint that the company could be gearing up for a sale.

And the timing would make sense. Bet365 has had moderate success in the US, where a decades-old ban on sports betting is being lifted one state at a time. With more states opening up, the American market is on track to become the world’s largest regulated space for sports gambling.

The recent speculation around the potential sale is still being met with some scepticism by City traders. Even so, the Daily Telegraph has gone as far as urging the Labour government to do whatever it can to keep CEO Denise Coates and the business in the UK. It’s certainly a sign of just how significant bet365 is to the industry at home.

Following in the footsteps of Flutter

But the lure of the US market is hard to ignore. Despite all of bet365’s global success, Flutter, the Dublin-based parent of FanDuel, offers a glimpse of the direction things might be heading. FanDuel, Flutter’s US arm, has already outperformed bet365 in the US, while another American giant, DraftKings, made almost as much revenue in the US alone as bet365 did worldwide.

As reported by ReadWrite, Flutter made headlines last summer when it began winding down parts of its UK operations and found what it called a “natural home” in New York. With more US states opening up to legal sports betting, FanDuel has grown rapidly and now holds over 50% of the US market, contributing roughly 40% of Flutter’s overall revenue.

FanDuel is on a different scale to our competitors. We are the clear #1 operator and exceeded $500m revenue in Q2. We expect to generate $1.8-$2bn in revenue in 2021 and expect Flutter US to generate positive EBITDA in 2023, based on expectations of future state openings. pic.twitter.com/qW51oYcSDv

— Flutter Entertainment (@FlutterEnt) August 10, 2021

In the UK, where the online gambling scene is more mature, companies like Flutter and others have faced growing pressure to tackle problem gambling. That’s led to the discontinuation of some past practices and a stronger emphasis on customer protection.

But in the US, it’s a different story. Regulation happens state by state, and the same level of consumer protections hasn’t yet taken hold. As Entain CFO Rob Wood put it, “the U.S. is in its infancy” when it comes to responsible gambling standards. That hasn’t stopped companies like Entain, co-owner of BetMGM, from ramping up their presence there.

US gambling market

However, even though the US seems like the promise land for online gambling, if you dig a little deeper, the picture gets more complicated.

The US isn’t one big market. It’s actually over 40 separate state markets, each with its own rules, regulations, and hurdles. Take New York, for example. It leads the nation in mobile sports betting with around $2 billion in monthly bets, but it taxes operators 51% on their revenue. That kind of tax burden can take a serious bite out of profits.

And online casinos are only legal in seven states. The sports betting scene is largely cornered by local giants like FanDuel and DraftKings. Other major players, like BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, and ESPN Bet, are all fighting for what’s left of the pie.

To put it in perspective, BetMGM made nearly $1.5 billion from online casino games in 2024, and that was from just a handful of states. Compare that to the $554 million they brought in from sports betting across many more states, and it’s clear: the real money isn’t in sports betting, and it’s not easy to get, either.

And just to shake things up even more, prediction market operators like Kalshi are pushing to have bets on sports events regulated under the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

If that happens, it could allow them to sidestep traditional sports betting regulations entirely. In other words, they could offer what’s essentially sports betting without needing to follow the state-by-state rules that traditional operators, including UK-backed ones, have spent years and millions trying to navigate.

‘This is not a flight, but a strategic expansion’

That said, Leslie K. Harris, Marketing Director and Purchasing Agent at Double Eagle Hotel & Casino in Colorado, told ReadWrite that the UK aren’t losing their gambling industry – at least not in the way it might seem.

“In my opinion, it is too early to say the UK is losing its gambling industry to the US,” Harris explains. While she acknowledges the explosive growth in the US since the 2018 federal ban on sports betting was lifted, with over $100 billion wagered in 2023 alone, she points out that the UK remains “a mature and stable market,” generating £15.6 billion ($20.7 billion) in revenue during the 2023–2024 financial year.

She adds: “Bet365 will not leave the UK market because it is their core market. Most likely, they will continue to strengthen their position in the US.

“At the same time, they will maintain a stable and profitable operating base at home. This is not a flight but a strategic expansion that their position in the global market allows.”

Alexandre Fossier, an iGaming specialist and gambling market expert, also reiterated this point. “It’s not that the UK is ‘losing’ its gambling industry to the US,” Fossier told us, “it’s more that the US is finally catching up and becoming a serious competitor in a space the UK has dominated for years.”

While the American market is growing fast and attracting attention, he argues that UK operators aren’t abandoning home; they’re simply expanding.

“The UK is still one of the most mature and regulated gambling markets in the world,” he points out, adding that companies like bet365 “have built their entire identity on navigating those regulations and maintaining that trust with UK customers.”

What we’re seeing, he says, “isn’t a relocation, it’s a shift in focus.” As the US opens up state by state, brands are diversifying, not defecting. “It’s not a loss for the UK so much as a reflection of how global the gambling industry has become,” Fossier adds. “If anything, the smart players are just playing both sides strategically.”

UK gambling companies hope to grow their businesses in the US

If bet365 were to lose a bit of momentum during or after a takeover, it could open the door for rivals like Ladbrokes, Coral, Sky Bet, William Hill, and Paddy Power to make a real push for the top spot. However, bet365 also sees big potential in the US. With plans for more investment and even a possible stock market listing stateside, it’s clear they may be gearing up to compete on a bigger stage.

A few folks have pinged me about bet365's market share in the US… instead of using a national aggregate, let's instead focus only on the states in which they are live, which currently are 13 of the 32 states with mobile sports betting. Of those 13 states, OH, IA, KY, IN, AZ,… pic.twitter.com/gQZzmDEUuh

— Alfonso Straffon