Those wanting to place World Cup bets with SportNation and RedZone have been given bad news. The two betting sites (owned by Esports Entertainment Group (EEG)) will cease trading in the United Kingdom at the end of this month.
The sites announced they would be “closing for a variety of reasons.” This includes “the economics of operating a small igaming business in the UK market.” As a result, November 30 will be their final day operating in the busy UK gambling industry.
Site members will still be able to place bets with SportNation and RedZone but not when December comes. They will be able to log into their accounts to make withdrawals from December 7. That is the date when the final closure of the sites will take place.
That will be followed by a week in which the operator will process the withdrawal requests. This will be for any that are over £1. From December 14 (four days before the World Cup Final), both sites say that “should any customer balances remain” they will “continue to comply with requests for refunds of such balances to the extent required by law and in accordance with our terms and conditions.”
Legal and regulatory requirements will also see EEG keeping possession of customer data for a period of five years.
While SportNation is closing in the UK, there is nothing to suggest that their site in Malta will follow suit.
Both SportNation and RedZone have been part of EEG since 2020. That happened when they acquired Argyll Entertainment. They also own Fansbet but there they remain open. How long for isn’t known. The FAQ page on the SportNation site directs people to send their business to FitzDares, not FansBet.
The future of EEG’s running of the Argyll brands was discussed in their annual report for the year ending 30 June. At that time they expressed an intention to reduce market spending towards user retention not acquisition. They had already taken steps to have their listings taken off Oddschecker.
EEG says that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) had been making periodic requests “in relation to information required to maintain its UK license” following the purchase of the Argyll brands. They stressed that “no adverse judgements” had been imposed by the UKGC.
There had been a problem earlier this year when EEG defaulted on a debt. The company explained that the creditor in question had not taken steps to pursue the payment but could still do so.
