Betsson pulls eight brands from UK to focus on Rizk, reduce costs

It’s not quite a full Brexit, but Nordic online gambling operator Betsson AB is significantly reducing its UK market presence as it streamlines an overly busy brand strategy.

On Wednesday, the Stockholm-listed Betsson announced that it was reducing its current UK market presence from “nine brands, on three different platforms, and under four licences” to a single brand. That brand, Rizk, was acquired from Gaming Innovation Group earlier this year along with three other gaming brands.

Betsson said the closure of the eight UK-facing brands – Betsafe, Betsson, Casino Euro, Guts, Kaboo, Live Roulette, Jackpot247 and Racebets – would take effect immediately with no further deposits or bets accepted on these sites. Customers have been reassured as to the safety of their account balances and all outstanding bets will be paid out as winning bets.

Betsson will be handing back three of its UK licenses to the UK Gambling Commission, while the now dormant UK brands will be retained for use in other markets, eliminating the need for any goodwill or trademark write-downs.