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The Kindred Group told investors that it will exit the North American gaming market in the first half of 2024. That means Unibet will no longer operate in Pennsylvania.
Unibet had struggled to gain solid market share in both the sports betting and online casino verticals in the Keystone State. Despite Pennsylvania down another platform next year, the market is still likely to thrive.
Kindred Group pulls the plug on Pennsylvania online gambling market
The Keystone State could be down to 18 PA online casinos soon, after the Kindred Group announced the shuttering of its North American gaming platforms, which includes Unibet Casino PA. The Kindred Group operated Unibet’s online casino and sportsbook within Pennsylvania and among the following markets:
- Ontario (sports betting, online casino)
- Arizona (sports betting)
- Indiana (sports betting)
- New Jersey (sports betting, online casino)
- Virginia (sports betting)
The news comes after the Kindred Group pulled out of Iowa last year to focus on multi-product states. The company even rolled out a new betting platform over the summer to help gain market share.
Exiting North America affects around 300 jobs, saving the company approximately $40 million. Nils Andén, Interim CEO of Kindred Group, said in a statement:
“The cost reduction actions announced today are both necessary and decisive. While it is never a desire to inform valued colleagues of redundancies, this puts us in a stronger position to secure long-term growth for Kindred across our locally regulated core markets.”
The announcement isn’t all that surprising, considering Kindred Group’s inability to make a significant impact in Pennsylvania with poor earnings. The company reported Q3 2023 revenue down 11% year over year with pre-tax earnings declining by 75%. It endured $6.5 million in North American losses in Q3.
The Kindred Group will focus on overseas markets such as Western European and Nordic countries.
Unibet unable to gain substantial PA online casino or sports betting market share
Despite investing in a platform upgrade over the summer, it wasn’t enough to help Unibet’s online casino acquire the necessary market share in Pennsylvania. However, before Unibet officially exits, it’s still likely to hit the $150 million mark for lifetime online casino revenue.
Even though that milestone is in reach, Unibet has been regularly toward the bottom of the totem pole in online casino market share. Unibet generated $1.8 million in October revenue, which is a 0.9% share. The operator crossed the $2 million threshold just six times this year.
Unibet, licensed through Mohegan Pennsylvania, has produced $24.6 million in YTD revenue, which is actually more than the following licenses:
- Wind Creek Casino PA
- Golden Nugget Online Casino PA
- Bally Casino PA
Keep in mind, Golden Nugget and Bally’s launched later in 2023.
The online sports betting market has not been kind to Unibet, either. In October, the operator recorded $7.7 million in handle, but only made $671,906 in revenue. Its handle figure landed 11th in the state. Unibet has never made more than $1 million in monthly revenue.
With the sports betting and online casino industries still expected to grow, Pennsylvania likely won’t miss a beat even though another operator is exiting the market.
