Closing its doors

theScore Bet sportsbooks in the US will be shutting down on July 1 as the operator looks to focus on the Canadian market. The Penn National Gaming-owned brand announced this decision on Wednesday. Penn National Gaming already has online sports betting operations up and running in a dozen US states through the Barstool Sportsbook. 

no longer be able to deposit to their US theScore Bet accounts or place bets starting June 15

Users will no longer be able to deposit to their US theScore Bet accounts or place bets starting June 15. The only thing that they will be able to do after this date and before the start of July is withdraw funds. By the time the offering fully shuts down, both the NHL and NBA seasons should be at a close.?

For those people who have already placed future bets that will not be settled by July, theScore Bet will be in touch about what will happen to these wagers. There is currently no way for theScoreBet users to transfer their accounts or balances over to the Barstool Sportsbook. 

Focusing on the Canadian market

Since the regulated online gambling market in Ontario, Canada launched on April 4, theScore Bet has managed to carve itself out a significant market share. According to Penn National Gaming CEO Jay Snowden, about 79% of sports bettors used the app in the first month. It is now looking to cement its position in the Ontario market. The company already has strong brand awareness in Canada thanks to theScore sports media app having been the most popular app of its kind in the country for many years.

theScore Bet has had a presence in the US market since launching in New Jersey three years ago. At the time, it was the very first media company to launch its own sportsbook in the country. It subsequently launched in Indiana, Iowa, and Colorado. 

Hefty competition

The decision to close down theScore Bet in the US is the latest in a wave of market consolidations over the past couple of years. There are now just a handful of operators that dominate the sports betting landscape. 

FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM are estimated to control at least 70% of the country’s total sports betting market. This doesn’t leave much for other operators, especially because of the massive sums being spent on customer acquisition. Certain operators like Caesars and WynnBET have announced that they have been cutting down significantly on marketing spending in order to remain operational in the US.