SBC News BetBright ceases operations “on a permanent basis” following 888 takeover

BetBright ceases operations “on a permanent basis” following 888 takeover

Following its acquisition by operator 888 Holdings earlier this week, Irish betting operator BetBright has ceased its gambling operations to customers “on a permanent basis”, according to a statement on the platform’s website.

Customers will still be able to gain access to BetBright accounts for a period of 30 days which will allow for the withdrawal of funds or winnings.

888, who are still to confirm the exact date as to when the deal will be finalised, is set to acquire the high-quality and scalable sportsbook technology for £15m in addition to receiving ‘complete ownership’ of the platform’s technologies.

It was announced by 888 as the signing of an agreement by its wholly-owned subsidiaries for the acquisition of certain assets of Dedsert Limited and Dedsert (Ireland) Limited and its affiliates (together which form BetBright).

Analysts from Regulus Partners responded to the news by pointing out that while over £60m has been invested in BetBright since 2013, the company was only sold to 888 for £15m, suggesting a “complete business failure rather strategic realignment”.

The brand’s shortfalling, according to Regulus, could be as a result of recent tax hikes in both the UK and Ireland, in addition to early-stage growth projections being hindered by an underlying market slowdown.

The group managed to project an image of scale due to its high investments in marketing, but the operator’s low sale price demonstrated that even this type of approach can fail if the high investments do not yield equal returns.

Regulus stated: “A big question for the industry now is whether increasing maturity will slow down the rate at which ‘disruptive’ entrants perennially upset the economics of heavy user monetisation (driving organic consolidation), or whether regulatory-technology change will create a new wave of business disruption (pushing the risk of business failure up the food-chain)”

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