Add SI Sportsbook Colorado to the list of smaller online sports betting operators who are punting during the 2024 football season. Evoke PLC — formerly 888 Holdings — disabled deposits and shut down SI Sportsbook Colorado as of Sept. 18, 2024.
“Please contact support with any questions or concerns,” the company told its Colorado sports betting customers.
Evoke also shut down SI Sportbook in Virginia on June 3, 2024, but the company told users in the Commonwealth it was partnering with Hard Rock Bet. A banner above the now-empty SI Virginia betting menu includes a Hard Rock Bet logo and website address. Hard Rock Bet isn’t an option for Colorado users, however.
SI Sportsbook’s Colorado, Virginia Departures Leave Michigan as Final State
SI Sportsbook hoped to draw from Sports Illustrated’s “30 million monthly unique users” when the online sports betting site and app launched on Sept. 7, 2021.
“We are proud to launch the SI Sportsbook in Colorado,” 888 Senior Vice President Yaniv Sherman said at the time.
“By partnering with Sports Illustrated, we have created a strong platform that enables us to build our US position through Sports Illustrated’s extensive brand footprint,” he later added. “This provides an opportunity to cost-effectively acquire customers and build a profitable business over time.”
The Colorado and Virginia exits leave Michigan as the only state with SI Sportsbook. The state’s online casino betting market is likely a factor in the sportsbook’s survival: SI Casino is featured prominently at the top of the SI Sportsbook Michigan website.
Colorado Betting Industry Hit By Additional Sportsbook Exits
Colorado’s operator-friendly licensing rules were set early on in the sportsbook expansion era, so lesser-known companies often used the Centennial State to gain a foothold in the industry. Those boutique brands encountered a difficult climb in the Rocky Mountains, however.
ClutchBet — known as BlueBet in Australia — stopped taking Colorado and U.S. sports bets on Sept. 16. Sweden’s Betsafe Sportsbook also stopped accepting wagers on Sept. 16. Betsafe users have until Friday, Sept. 27, to close their accounts.
Earlier this summer, SuperBook Sports left Colorado to focus on its Nevada market, and Betfred Sportsbook Colorado left the state at the end of August.
Betway’s US exit included Colorado on July 10. The CEO of Betway’s parent company, Super Group, said it conducted an extensive review of the US market.
“At present, we do not see a long-term path to profitability for the sportsbook product,” Neal Menashe said.
Other sportsbooks hope to fill the void. Betr Sportsbook plans to enter the Colorado market. Its debut would bring the Colorado sportsbook count to 14. International Game Technology — IGT — recently retooled the BetMonarch Colorado app to boost its market share.
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