- The Betway brand is now live in Arizona where they are offering statewide mobile sports betting.
- The addition of Arizona means that Betway is now operational in six states joining Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, Iowa and Pennsylvania.
- Betway also indicated that these six states are among twelve where they have secured market access via their partnership with Digital Gaming Corporation (DGC).
Despite the generally boneheaded way that most US states have implemented sports betting there are at least a few that are doing it at least somewhat right. One of these that falls under the ‘somewhat right’ category is Arizona–they’ve created a decent, competitive ecosystem for the betting public though behind the scenes the regulatory process is rife with corruption, cronyism and plenty of ‘anti-competitive’ stipulations.
At least there are *some* options for Arizona sports bettors both online and retail. The state just got a new online provider with the addition of Super Group owned Betway. As with their previous launches, it was done in partnership with Digital Gaming Corporation (DGC). Interesting note from the Super Group earnings call on February 24, 2022–the company will be acquiring Digital Gaming Corporation later this year–as always–‘subject to regulatory approval’. Digital Gaming’s primary focus is casino games and that should be beneficial to Super Group as they grow their US footprint.
Back in Arizona, Betway’s ‘partner’ is the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. The tribe has an interesting backstory–historically, they have shared land with the Navajo for more than 160 years. Unfortunately, that led to much of their tribal lands being annexed by the United States into the Navajo Reservation. The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe wasn’t even recognized federally until 1989. The tribe also has a gaming compact with the state of Arizona but until now hasn’t engaged directly in gaming activities. Instead, they lease their gaming device allocation rights to other tribes in the state. The compact was revised in May 2021, allowing the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe to offer mobile sports betting.
Anthony Werkman, chief executive of Betway, didn’t have a lot to say on the occasion of the launch though he’s glad to see the sportsbook live in another state:
“We’re proud to see the growth of the Betway brand in the U.S. and it’s great to see that the sportsbook product has now gone live in a sixth state.”
Betway has previously launched in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, Iowa and Pennsylvania. The company had more to say on the occasion of their Iowa launch–in this quote they explain the company’s financial structure, announce the DGC acquisition and drop the news of a licensing in Poland:
SGHC Limited (“SGHC”, “Super Group” or the “Company”), the parent company of global online sports betting and gaming businesses operating Betway, a premier online sports betting brand, and Spin, a multi-brand online casino offering, today continued its new market expansion with the addition of a fifth live market in the U.S. as well as a new license in Europe.
Super Group plans to bring its leading global online sports betting and gaming group to the U.S. public markets, listing on the New York Stock Exchange, via a previously announced business combination with Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SEAH), a special purpose acquisition company led by Eric Grubman and John Collins.
The Betway brand now has gone live in Iowa, joining Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. These five states are part of a group of up to eleven states where Digital Gaming Corporation (“DGC”) has secured market access. Super Group and DGC have executed a definitive agreement under which Super Group will acquire DGC (subject to customary regulatory approvals).
Additionally, in Europe, Betway has been granted a license in Poland where, once launched, the brand is expected to leverage the global appeal of existing partnerships including their Bundesliga deals in neighboring Germany.
Super Group was listed on the NYSE in late January. Also from the Iowa press release, Richard Hasson, President and COO of Super Group talked about the company’s growing market footprint in the US and Europe:
“We are delighted to further Betway’s U.S. presence with the addition of another live market there, as well as to enhance our formidable competitive position in Europe with the new license in Poland. This progress illustrates our focus and execution as we bring Betway, the premier and unified global online sports betting brand, to customers across markets and around the world.”
“Heading into 2022, we expect the pipeline of new market expansion to be active and to continue both internationally and in the U.S., where the acquisition of DGC provides us access to a group of eleven states. In our core geographies, we continue to thrive with market leading positions, scale and financial flexibility, operating a proven, cash generative business.”
Right now, no clear information on where Betway will launch next. Since they’ve got a partnership with the NHL you have to think that an Ontario launch is under consideration. The company will hold their first earnings call in the first half of April to discuss 2021 full year results as well as report on Q1 2022. They’ll likely have some indication of their future launch plans during that event.
