Kindred Group announced that it is shutting down its operations in North America, completing a widely anticipated cessation after conducting a strategic review of the division.
The pullout covers a handful of U.S. markets where the Malta-based company’s Unibet sportsbook is present, as well as Ontario. Citing the competitive nature of the North American market, Kindred noted that the long-term outlook for the company has changed since its entry shortly after the historic PASPA decision. Moreover, remaining in North America would have required Kindred to devote significant resources to close the gap with the leaders in the market, a task the company found to be “untenable.”
The decision affects sports bettors in five states where the Unibet betting app is available: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Virginia, and Indiana. Unibet, which also offers iGaming in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, withdrew from Iowa at the end of last year and has already terminated its market access agreement in Ohio at a cost of approximately £4 million ($5.06 million).
Word of the decision came via an update on Kindred’s strategic review, which began in April, with the company determining it could realize £40 million ($50.7 million) annually in gross cost savings by leaving the United States and Canada. Kindred said reallocating those resources to other core markets “will improve ability to capitalize on core market potential and gain market share.”