A week after Wynn Resorts launched a new legal sports betting app in six jurisdictions, it has made an about-face... announcing a decision on Friday to downsize its markets.
WynnBET — the legal sports betting and iGaming platform for Wynn Resorts — will no longer operate in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, Louisiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia.
CFO Julie Cameron-Doe cited the lack of iGaming legislation and a number of other investment opportunities for the decision to “curtail capital investment in WynnBet.
Its online sports betting site will continue to operate in Nevada and Massachusetts, the company said, because of the "physical presence" (Wynn Resorts has retail sportsbooks at the Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts, plus the Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas) in those markets.
New York and Michigan are still “under review,” according to the release.
“In light of the continued requirement for outsized marketing spend through user acquisition and promotions in online sports betting, we believe there are higher and better uses of capital deployment for Wynn Resorts shareholders,” Cameron-Doe said.
Reverse decision
It's an interesting decision considering Wynn spent an abundance of time, effort, and money to get regulated in those six markets. Wynn also announced impressive Q2 numbers earlier this week, with operator revenue jumping 76% year-over-year to $1.6 billion.
The new WynnBet app allows users to wager on a single platform across all markets and added new technology to enhance betting markets, deposits, and withdrawals.
