The United States is a rough neighborhood for mobile sportsbook apps. Many have tried. Many have vanished. Barstool Sportsbook? Goodbye. Soon we’ll learn if ESPN Bet is a top-ten play by Disney.
PENN Entertainment’s decision to rebrand the super-hyped by super-unsuccessful Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet is as expensive as it is a push against headwinds. PENN will pay Disney $1.5 billion over ten years for the exclusive right to leverage the sports broadcasting giant’s reach with ESPN granted warrants to purchase up to 31.8 million shares in the gambling company.
Big numbers, big gamble (literally) as legacy media brands have not proven persuasive in turning readers or viewers into bettors. At least with their brand. theScore couldn’t do it and sold out to PENN for $2 billion in 2021. SI Sportsbook isn’t doing it as a rebranded 888Sports.
FoxBet provides the most recent warning. Parent companies Flutter Entertainment and FOX announced in late July that the site would be shuttered by Aug. 31 after failing to translate its significant sports media profile into a meaningful share of the American sports betting pie. FoxBet was one of the first gambling apps produced by a major media outlet, but couldn’t reach as much as 1% of the handle in most states despite the constant carnival-barking of studio analysts like Terry Bradshaw or Howie Long. The comparison with fellow Flutter property and national sports betting market leader FanDuel was particularly harsh for FoxBet.
The travails of Australian gambling outfit PlayUp’s American launch also culminated in July. The New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement ordered the site to cease taking bets in the state following a string of compliance issues coinciding with the termination of the entire American staff. CEO Daniel Simic subsequently had the company’s other site in Colorado put into a state of suspension. He claims a sale is being negotiated with an unnamed party.
Five years after the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, Gaming Today has begun chronically the winners and forgotten and those still working out whether they’re big fish or little. Call it the Encyclopedia Bet-annica.
All-Time Licensed US Mobile Sportsbooks
| Sportsbook | Status | Backstory | Key dates | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 888sport | Retrenched, rebranded | The global sports betting and casino giant jumped into the American market in New Jersey soon after the fall of PASPA but never found a foothold. 888 pivoted by rebranding through a partnership with Sports Illustrated, creating SI Sportsbook. | Sept. 7, 2021: SI Sportsbook launches in Colorado. | New Jersey |
| Action 24/7 | Active | Local company still going after early stumbles. | Nov. 1, 2020: Sports betting launches in Tennessee | Tennessee |
| Atlantis Reno | Active | Affiliated with Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. | May 15, 2015: App launches. | Nevada |
| Bally Bet | Active/limited | Bally Bet announced in June of 2023 that it was going dormant in all but Arizona as it transitioned to Kambi technology. Strangely, all current users will have to sign up for Bally Bet accounts anew. This will not help the company's microscopic national market share of less than 1%. | June 30, 2023: Bally Bet shuts down in all but Arizona and begins offering refunds. | Arizona |
| B-Connected | Active | Owned by Boyd Gaming and running apps through The Orleans, the Cannery and Sam's Town | Aug, 27, 2018: Launches | Nevada |
| Barstool | Closing by November, 2023 | PENN Entertainment announced on Aug. 8, 2023 that Barstool founder and CEO Dave Portnoy had bought back 100% of the company and the sportsbook would be rebranded as ESPN Bet. Portnoy also agreed to a non-compete clause and to pay PENN 50% of any future Barstool sale. Barstool had not been a major player, barely reaching 1% of handle in the states where it operated. On Feb. 17, 2023, PENN had acquired the remaining interest in Barstool Sports it had earlier agreed to buy for approximately $388 million. | Aug. 8, 2023: Portnoy says on social media he will own Barstool until he dies. | Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Iowa, Indiana |
| Bet365 | Active | The UK-based gambling colossus has made a methodical entry into the US, citing the complexity of state-by-state legalization. | April 2020: First US launch, New Jersey. | Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia |
| Bet America | Defunct | Owned by Churchill Downs, Inc., Bet America was supposed to be a ponies-and-sportsbook cross-sell but was an abject failure. So much so CDI re-branded Bet America under its TwinSpires horse racing app umbrella in 2021. | January, 2021: CDI announces re-brand. | Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania |
| Betfred | Active | Owned by a tenured United Kingdom-based bookmaker that owns and operates more than 1,500 betting shops there. | 2019: Betfred USA Sports launches in Las Vegas. | Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington |
| BetJack | Active | A product of Ohio-based JACK Entertainment. | Jan. 1, 2023: Launched with Ohio's sports betting market on first day possible. | Ohio |
| BetLucky | Defunct | Perished in 2019 amid a fatal squabble between Delaware North Gaming, Miomni Gaming and Entergaming. | March 7, 2019: App shuts down | West Virginia |
| betly | Suspended | Owned by Mardi Gras Casino in West Virginia. | Summer, 2023: App is scheduled to relaunch with a refresh. | Arkansas, West Virginia |
| BetMGM | Active | Owned through a business partnership between MGM Resorts International and Entain. | October, 2021: DraftKings backs off a $22 billion plan to buy Entain. | Arizona, Colorado, Washington D.C., Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming |
| BetParx | Active | Owned by the parent company of Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pa. | January, 2023: Fanatics begins talks to buy BetParx. | Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania |
| Betr | Active | A micro-betting site figure-headed by YouTube personality and co-owner Jake Paul, Betr wants to make the sports betting experience more like TikTok. | Jan. 23, 2023: Betr launched in Ohio. | Ohio, Massachusetts, Virginia |
| BetMonarch | Active | A local mobile-only platform. | May 2020: Goes lives in Colorado | Colorado |
| BetRivers | Active | Under parent company Rush Street Interactive, which evolved from social gaming sites to online casinos. | 2020: Global Gaming Awards Digital Operator of the Year | Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia |
| Betsafe | Active | Is a Betsson product, live with Dostal Alley Casino in Central City. | March 2022: Launched in Colorado | Colorado |
| BetStars | Defunct | Became FoxBet on Feb. 1, 2020. | Feb. 21, 2020: Rebranded from BetStars to FoxBet. | New Jersey |
| Betway | Active | Gained an online sports betting license in Illinois in July, 2023. | March 2021: Makes US debut in Colorado | Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia |
| BetWildwood | Active | Under the Wildwood Hotel & Casino umbrella | 2008: Casino opens | Colorado |
| Bet Saracen | Active | Bet Saracen is the mobile app for the Saracen Casino Resort sportsbook in Arkansas. | May, 2023: Upon launch, Bet Saracen became the state leader, with $53.2 million in handle over Q1. | Arkansas |
| Borgata | Active | The online organ of arm of Borgata Casino & Resort. | May 2019: Launched first online sportsbook in New Jersey | New Jersey, Pennsylvania |
| Caesars | Active | Owned by one of the most ubiquitous gambling companies in the world. | Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporation and changed its own name to Caesars Entertainment on July 20, 2020. | Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wyoming |
| CG Sports | Active | Affiliated with Tropicana Race & Sportsbook in Las Vegas | 2014: Fine $5.5 million when a company exec was found to have run an illegal sports betting operation. | Nevada |
| Circa | Active | The mobile wing of Derek Stevens' popular Old Las Vegas retail sportsbook, Circa pushed outside of Nevada as the self-described home of high limits and bog bets. | July 1, 2020: With Colorado launch, Circa pushes outside of Nevada. | Colorado, Iowa, Nevada |
| ClutchBet | Active | A subsidiary of BlueBet, an ASX listed company with history in Australia. | Nov. 1, 2002: Launches in Iowa, touting head-to-head betting. | Colorado, Iowa |
| Desert Diamond | Active | Affiliated with casinos in Sahuarita, Tucson and West Valley. | December, 2021: First Desert Diamond retail sportsbooks open. | Arizona |
| DraftKings | Active | Developed from a Daily Fantasy Sports titan to a major sports betting market leader in the US. | 2012: Former Vistaprint co-workers Jason Robins, Matthew Kalish, and Paul Liberman found the company in Boston. | Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming |
| DRF | Active | The sports betting companion to horse racing betting site the Daily Racing Form. | Jan. 27, 2022: First launch in Iowa | Iowa |
| Eagle | Active | The gaming operator for the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe, | April, 2022: Launch | Michigan |
| EEG | Defunct | Esports Entertainment Group was the first to offer odds only on esports betting via VIE.gg, beginning in April of 2022. | Oct. 25, 2022: Shuts down | New Jersey |
| Elite | Active | Iowa-based local option | August, 2023: Colorado launch | Colorado, Iowa |
| Fanatics | Active | Part of the sports apparel behemoth's expansion into all things sports includes legalized wagering. After a relatively slow start, the company made a statement by agreeing to purchase PointBet's American assets and market access for $225 million. | June 30, 2023: PointsBet shareholders approve a sale to Fanatics for $225 million. | Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee |
| FanDuel | Active | A former DFS purveyor, now owned by Flutter and the American marker leader for sports betting. | July 21, 2009: Founded by Nigel Eccles, Lesley Eccles, Tom Griffiths, Rob Jones and Chris Stafford in Edinburgh, Scotland. | Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming |
| FireKeepers | Active | Run by FireKeepers Casino Hotel. | July 12, 2021: Launches in Michigan | Michigan |
| Four Winds | Active | Owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and its Four Winds Casinos. | March 1, 2023: Four Winds Casino in South Bend, Ind., opens. | Indiana, Michigan |
| FoxBet | Shutting down by Aug. 31, 2023 | FoxBet was never widely popular and looked even more feeble next to FanDuel, the national market-leader also owned by Flutter. | July 31-Aug. 31, 2023 | Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania |
| Fubo Gaming | Defunct | The betting wing of the TV content platform never found a foothold and lasted less than a year. A branded sportsbook lounge at MetLife Stadium and an unfulfilled $12.4 million sponsorship deal with the New York Jets were among the contentious details to sort out. The Jets have sued. | August, 2022: FuboTV, facing an eventual Q4 net loss of $95.9 million, announces its getting out of the sports betting business. | Arizona, Iowa, New Jersey |
| GamebetDC | Active | The Intralot-operated DC Lottery-overseen sports betting app for the District has been an unpopular option since its inception. | July, 2024: GamebetDC's contract with Intralot expires. | District of Columbia |
| Golden Nugget | Active | The ubiquitous Atlantic City casino brand has made a methodical push into mobile sportsbook. | February, 2019: It's first mobile sportsbook launch, in New Jersey. | Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, West Virginia |
| Hard Rock Bet | Active | Predominantly owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida via Hard Rock Digital, it awaits a re-launch in one of the sports betting map prizes: Florida. A federal appeals court win could soon flip the switch there. | Aug. 21, 2023: purported date Hard Rock could resume taking wagers in Florida, presuming there are no further legal actions by West Flagler Associates, which had successfully sued to shut down Hard Rock Bets. | Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia |
| MaximBet | Defunct | Predominantly owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida via Hard Rock Digital, it awaits a re-launch in one of the sports betting map prizes: Florida. A federal appeals court win could soon flip the switch there. | Nov. 16, 2022: operations cease | Colorado, Indiana |
| Maverick | Active | Partnered with Grand Z Casino in Central City, Colo. | May 2023: Announces new payout options with PayNearMe | Colorado |
| Mojo | Active | A sports betting stock market where athletes are the commodity. | May 2023: Launches in New Jersey | New Jersey |
| MVGBet | Active | The online sportsbook of Miami Valley Gaming | Jan. 1, 2023: Sports betting launches in Ohio | Ohio |
| Nevada Sports Book | Active | Tethered to South Point Casino, with odds set by legendary Jimmy Vaccaro. | May 6, 2020: App launches as a COVID-19 response. | Nevada |
| Oaklawn | Active | Mobile platform of the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. | September, 2022: Helps launch mobile era in Arkansas | Arkansas |
| Peppermill | Active | managed by Peppermill Casino Reno | 1971: Nat Carasali and Bill Paganetti open the Peppermill Coffee Shop | Nevada |
| PlayMGM | Rebranded | Became BetMGM under Roar Digital, LLC, a joint venture created by MGM Resorts International and GVC Holdings in 2019. | August, 2022: Launches in New Jersey | New Jersey |
| PlaySugarHouse | Rebranded | Rush Street Interactive rebranded its properties to BetRivers in 2022. | Aug. 15, 2022: App rebrands as BetRivers | Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia |
| PlayUp | Shutdown at least temporarily | Beset by financial problems ahead of a possible sale, the company was ordered to shut down in New Jersey before going dormant voluntarily in Colorado. | November, 2021: reports emerged of a planned acquisition by defunct cryptocurrency broker FTX. | Colorado, New Jersey |
| PointsBet | Being purchased by Fanatics | The American wing of the Australian gambling company never hooked US bettors on its unique points-betting gimmick. The company also suffered some rough pubic relations with ultimately unpopular sponsorship deals with several collegiate athletic programs. PointsBet's market access was attractive for newcomer Fanatics, also leading DraftKings to launch an unsuccessful blocking maneuver before the sale was approved. | June 30, 2023: PointsBet shareholders approve a sale to Fanatics for $225 million. | Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia |
| Prophet | Active | The first fully regulated, peer-to-peer high-frequency sports betting exchange in the United States, | August 2022: Launched in New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Q | Active | Digital extension of Q Sportsbook in Dubuque, Iowa | May 15, 2022: Greyhound racing ceases at the track there. | Iowa |
| Resorts | Defunct | Shuttered in 2022 to make way for a new recipient of Resorts Casino's third New Jersey skin. | Feb. 14, 2022: Wagering stops | New Jersey |
| Resorts WorldBET | Active | Became the eighth mobile operator in New York in 2022. | March 3, 2022: Launches in NY. | New York |
| SaharaBets | Active | SaharaBets is essentially an in-house sportsbook for the Arizona Coyotes (NHL), the property of Coyotes team-owner Alex Meruelo's Meruelo Gaming LLC, SAHARA Las Vegas and Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev. | Jan. 12, 2002: SaharaBets launches. | Arizona |
| SBK | Active | Owned by Smarkets, which specializes in sports betting exchange. | 2022: Launches in first state, Colorado | Colorado, Indiana |
| Scoreboard | Active | Brand of the lottery-run Oregon monopoly | Oct. 16, 2019: Launches in Oregon | Oregon |
| Sky Ute | Active | Launched first state-wide tribal sports betting app in Colorado | December 2020: Sky Ute launched an esports-exclusive sportsbook. | Colorado |
| SI Sportsbook | Active | Created when 888sport pulled out of the US market as a standalone, SI Sportsbook is an attempt to leverage the legacy of Sports Illustrated in one of the fist gambling/media partnerships. | Sept. 7, 2021: SI Sportsbook launches in Colorado. | Colorado, Michigan, Virginia |
| Sportsbook RI | Active | The branded lottery-run sports betting option in Rhode Island | November, 2018: Legal sports betting begins in Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
| Sporttrade | Active | Outcomes are priced and face line movements like stocks. | Sept. 15, 200: NJ launch | New Jersey |
| STN Sports | Active | Affiliated with Stanton Casino, Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch and Wildfire Gaming | August 2021: App launch | Nevada |
| SuperBook | Active | Affiliated with arguably the most famous sportsbook in Las Vegas, Westgate SuperBook, the app is now available outside its ancestral homeland. | 2016: SuperBook launches its app. | Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee |
| theScore Bet | Defunct | Shuttered in the US by PENN in 2022. | Aug. 5, 2021: PENN announces sale of theScore for $2 billion. | Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey |
| Tipico | Active | Sports betting leader in Germany. | December 2020: New Jersey launch for first state | Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey Ohio |
| Treasure Island | Active | Another independent operator, this one affiliated with Treasure Island. | 1993: Treasure Island casino opens. | Nevada |
| TwinSpires | Shutting down | A venture from the company that owns Churchill Downs, Inc., and runs a national thoroughbred horse racing app, TwinSpires was supposed to have shut down for sports betting by 2023 but its website remains active for Arizona. | Feb. 2022: Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc., said on an earnings call that the online sports betting and casino sites would begin shutting down over the next six months. | Arizona |
| Unibet | Active | Owned by Kindred Group | 1997: Founded by Anders Strom in London. | Arizona, Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia |
| William Hill | Active | Purchased from Caesars by 888 Holdings for £2.2 billion in 2021, the brand has mostly vanished in the US. It still lives in Nevada, where it became infamous for a massive crash before and through the Super Bowl in 2023. | April, 2021: Acquired by Caesars Entertainment. | Nevada |
| Wind Hill | Active | In collaboration with Betfred | May 22, 2009: Casino opens | Pennsylvania |
| WynnBet | Active, retrencing | Owned by Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts | Aug. 11, 2023: WynnBet announced it was pulling out of eight of 12 states where licensed: Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. | Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia |
This list will be updated as the American sports betting business continues to figure itself out.
Did we miss any so far? Let us know with a DM here.
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