SuperBook Sports is the latest casualty in the US sports betting industry

Posted on: July 19, 2024, 09:02 AM.

Last updated: July 19, 2024, 09:02 AM.

SuperBook Sports, the sports betting arm of Westgate Resorts, announced Friday that it is withdrawing from the online sports betting industry outside of Nevada.

sports betting taxes gambling — Gamblers at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. The operator is the mobile sports betting industry outside of Nevada. (Image: Getty)

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the gaming company said that bettors with SuperBook mobile betting accounts in eight states will no longer be able to place sports bets starting at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Those customers can withdraw their funds immediately.

“We regret to inform you that effective July 19, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. ET, SuperBook Sports will no longer be accepting bets, deposits, or new accounts in Colorado, New Jersey, Arizona, Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa, Maryland, and Virginia,” the social media post read.

The SuperBook Nevada mobile betting app remains operational, and the famed SuperBook sportsbook at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino remains open. The post did not mention the fate of the SuperBook retail location at The Lodge Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado.

Now that the SuperBook is out, another one bites the dust

SuperBook Sports is the latest online bookmaker to throw in the towel in the US. The news comes less than two weeks after Super Group (NYSE: SGHC), the parent company of Betway, made the same announcement.

With the addition of SuperBook, the U.S. sports betting graveyard now includes at least 10 companies, and that’s excluding operators PointsBet US and William Hill, which have been acquired. Another recent addition to that list is SaharaBets Sportsbook, which last week said it was shutting down its online sports betting operations in Arizona.

SuperBook Sports’ struggles to capture significant market share are a familiar refrain in the industry — one increasingly dominated by DraftKings and FanDuel. In a report released earlier this week, JMP Securities estimated that the two operators collectively accounted for 74.5% of U.S. sports betting in the second quarter. BetMGM came in third with a mere 7%.

This underscores the point that even gaming companies with strong brand awareness find it difficult (and expensive) to compete with the two aforementioned giants..

The SuperBook brand failed to catch on outside of Vegas

For many Las Vegas locals and visitors, the SuperBook at Westgate is considered a fixture on the Sin City sports betting scene. The sportsbook there has been in operation for more than 35 years and, at over 35,000 square feet, is one of the largest venues of its kind in the world.

The SuperContest and the winner-take-all SuperContest Gold are among the most popular annual football betting competitions, and Jay Kornegay and John Murray are two of the biggest names in the business. Kornegay is a regular media presence, and SuperBook odds are frequently mentioned in sports media circles, confirming that the SuperBook brand is recognized by those in the know in the sports betting world.

Even with these qualifications, the operator could not adequately compete with the two big names in the domestic online sports betting industry.