Guts and Kaboo shut down as Betsson continues on its UK market exit

Betsson owned UK betting site Guts and online casino Kaboo have announced their exit from the UK online casino and betting space.  

Betsson is removing both brands from its UK based operations as a part of its exit strategy from the country, leaving only Rizk as its sole UK operating brand.  Betsson has revealed that both brands will be ceasing operations from 10 December.  

Guts customers were emailed to inform them of the closure while also advising them to withdraw existing funds by 5 January 2021.  The email also detailed that customers will not be able to deposit funds, nor access the gambling content on the site after 9 December. 

As a consolation, Guts will deem all outstanding bets placed before 17 November as winners while all bets placed between 17-24 November will be honoured and could result in wins as long as the bet even takes place before 10 December.  Also, bets placed between 17-24 December have been refunded.  

Back in October, Betsson announced its intentions to cease the majority of its UK operations.  The operator mentioned that its revenue from the UK represented only a fraction of the company’s overall revenue at approximately 3%. The operator also mentioned that it will be focusing its UK efforts through a single-brand strategy to not only increase efficiency but also create a positive impact from the UK market moving forward.  Rizk, which the operator acquired along with three other brands which include Guts and Kaboo, from the Gaming Innovation Group earlier this year in a £30 million deal, will be the only remaining Betsson-owned brand in the UK. 

The operator has also revealed that its decision was prompted by the UK’s multiple regulatory changes introduced in recent years.  It further went on to explain that these regulatory changes required extensive investments in technology, regulatory compliance, marketing and that with its current UK setup such investments were not sustainable for its current continued operations. 

Aside from Guts and Kaboo, Betsson will also shut down CasinoEuro, Betsafe, SuperCasino, LiveRoulette, Jackpot247, RaceBets and its flagship Betsson brand. Despite this pullout from the UK market, Betsson will retain all of its brands and will look to bolster these brands in other more profitable markets.  The operator also mentioned that there will be no need for a write-down of goodwill or trade as it will be using the eight remaining brands in the future.   

Back in 2017, Betsson acquired several UK-based brands through its purchase of NetPlay.  However, the investment never seemed to have produced significant growth in the operator’s UK market share.  Despite its lacklustre performance in the UK, Betsson has seen significant growth in other markets such as Estonia.  Earlier this year, the operator has partnered with TG Labs in launching its Supercasino.ee in the Estonian market. 

While Betsson’s business realignment may make sense from a business perspective, industry insiders believe that the UK Gambling Commission’s probe into many of Betsson’s brands has triggered the operator to exit the UK market.