Bet365 rumored to be looking to buy NY license

This week Resorts World, which is owned by the Malaysian Group Genting, announced it would be shuttering its online sports betting operation in New York as of June 30th. The company received the license as part of a bid in 2021 led by Caesars, which also included WynnBet. WynnBet has since dropped out of the online sports betting business and sold its New York license in 2024 to PENN Entertainment for $25 million. In a press statement Resorts World effectively said that it just wasn’t making any headway in New York and there is no foreseeable chance of profit.

We wanted to inform you about some important changes regarding Resorts World Bet. We encourage you to take action on any outstanding wagers or withdrawals before these dates to avoid any disruptions. pic.twitter.com/DvnWhrwC3s

— Resorts World Bet (@resortsworldbet) June 9, 2025

Betting in New York is controlled by FanDuel, DraftKings and to a smaller extent BetMGM and yet no companies including the forementioned are profitable in the state as a result of the exorbitant 51% tax the state charges on gross gaming revenue. According to reports, Resorts World has only generated $17.6 million in revenue since it launched in 2022 and in 2025 they have just over $3 million in revenue. Last month Resorts World only had a handle of $9 million in the state, which is just pathetic. The other sportsbooks operating in New York currently, aside from the four previously mentioned, are BetFanatics, ESPNBet, BetRivers and BallyBet.

Operators Struggle in NY

BetFanatics has started making strides in New York and elsewhere, although its CEO Matt King acknowledged at various industry conferences that it will be some time before they could be profitable in New York, if at all. But ESPNBet has struggled mightily and there are reports that PENN Entertainment, which signed a 10 year deal with ESPN for $2 billion, may exercise an option to exit the deal and possibly just leave the online betting market as a whole since they are really not making strides against the likes of FanDuel or DraftKings anywhere. Like ResortsWorld, Penn National has been very successful as a land-based casino operator but they just don’t seem to have the brand or expertise to be successful online. BallyBet and BetRivers are also rumored to be reconsidering their presence in New York and possibly even exiting the U.S. as a whole. BetRivers is more successful in other states and Ontario so they may keep some licenses while giving up the others, but BallyBet is not making any strides in the U.S. at all and is seriously considering their place in the country.

Resorts World will not just walk away empty handed and instead will sell the New York license. The companies most likely to want the license are Hard Rock (owned by the Seminole Tribe), Underdog which has a large DFS operation, and Bet365. Bet365 originally applied for a New York license but lost out. And Hard Rock is just looking to expand where they can. It’s unlikely New York will grant an additional license, meaning that the three companies will have to fight it out to get the license.

Bet365

Rumors have it that Bet365 is the strong front runner and is willing to do what they must to get the license. And strangely their reasoning may be far different than Hard Rock or Underdog, which gives them a much larger incentive. Last month The Guardian magazine reported that the owners of Bet365, led by Denise Coates, is seriously considering selling the company for 9 billion GBP or $12 billion USD, the figure that Eilers and Krejcik Gaming estimated the company to be worth. The time seems to be right and presumably the 57-year-old Denise Coates may want to focus on other areas. According to their sources Bet365 has been talking with Wall Street banks and industry analysts who believe Bet365 would be an ideal candidate for a public listing. Whether the Coates family decides to keep a stake is unsure. Bet365 currently operates in 13 states in the U.S. and is in almost every legal market worldwide.

The one thing that is likely hurting the valuation of Bet365, however, is they still aren’t in the biggest market in the United States, New York. Even though no sportsbooks are making money in the Empire State, it’s still deemed crucial for any company to be deemed a major operator they must have a legal presence in the state where sports betting handle in 2024 was $22.7 billion and is growing steadily each month. Moreover, New York is looking at legalizing online casinos at a lower tax rate which could help make the state more attractive. As a result, rumors indicate that Bet365 has approached Resorts World and is prepared to match the $25 million payment that PENN Entertainment paid to Wynn for its license and may even be willing to go higher.

In 2006 the company bought the assets of Bowman’s International and rolled the Canadian customers of Bowman’s into their own to create by far and away the biggest offshore company in Canada. At the same time, they sold the U.S. operations to Bodog. Bet365 were not only successful in Canada prior to 2017, but were quite ingenious setting up partnerships with the CFL and other teams and became a household name to any Canadians that followed sports. To date Bet365 still operates as a grey market company in Canada except the province of Ontario where they were one of the first companies to shutter the grey market operation and receive a legal iGaming Ontario license to operate a sportsbook and casino in the province. Bet365 is also the only company in Ontario to have a partnership with Woodbine Entertainment allowing them to offer horse racing to customers after integrating the Woodbine tote into the Bet365 website. And in Ontario Bet365 is still the second largest operator behind only FanDuel.

As for the U.S., Bet365 first started in New Jersey in 2018 after setting up a partnership with Atlantic City based Hard Rock, which was a requirement for operating in the state, and later expanded operations to Colorado and Pennsylvania and more recently to Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. The company set up a U.S. headquarters in Denver where it employs about 100 people, although they employ over 7,000 people worldwide. Numerous surveys worldwide have listed Bet365 among the best and most customer service-based sportsbooks and their player acquisition and retention rate proves that.

If the rumors prove to be true, expect Bet365 to make a big push in the state and then sell to a Wall Street banker who will list the company on the stock exchange. If Denise Coates then decides to walk away, she will net almost $7 billion for her 58% stake in the company.

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