It’s A No-Wynn Situation As Company Shuts Down NJ Sportsbook, Online Casino

Written By David Danzis on August 11, 2023 - Last Updated on August 6, 2024
wynnbet logo on goodbye letter

One of the biggest names in US gambling is shutting down its underwhelming online sports betting operations in most jurisdictions where it does not have a physical casino.

Wynn Resorts announced Friday that it will cease online sports betting operations for WynnBet in eight states, including New Jersey. A press release stated that Wynn would seek to exit the NJ sports betting market “as soon as possible.”

The other states where Wynn is closing down its online sportsbook are Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

WynnBet also functioned as an online casino in NJ and West Virginia. That platform is going dark as well.

WynnBet NJ discontinuing services ‘effective immediately’

In an email to customers, WynnBet noted that it “had to make the difficult decision” to close down its New Jersey online sportsbook and online casino.

According to the message, WynnBet Sportsbook and WynnBet Casino will shut down “effective immediately.”

While they will not be able to gamble on the platform anymore, WynnBet customers will still have access to their accounts for 60 days – until Oct. 11 – in order for outstanding bets to settle and to withdraw account balances. If you have wagers that will not be settled within 60 days, expect to be contacted by WynnBet “in the near future.”

If you do not withdraw your account balance by Oct. 11, WynnBet will mail a check to the address attached to the account.

As for rewards, WynnBet indicated that Wynn Rewards points earned “will remain in effect so that you can redeem them for rewards at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor properties.”

WynnBet making exit due to ‘outsized marketing spend’

In a statement Friday, Wynn Resorts COO Julie Cameron-Doe noted that the company can find “higher and better uses of capital deployment for Wynn Resorts shareholders,” citing the “continued requirement for outsized marketing spend” to build a customer database and roll out various promotions as a reason for WynnBet’s exit.

As for online casinos, Cameron-Doe said:

“While we believe in the long-term prospects of iGaming, the dearth of iGaming legislation and the presence of numerous other investment opportunities available to us around the globe have led us to the decision to curtail our capital investment in WynnBet to focus primarily on those states where we maintain a physical presence.”

As a result, Wynn will continue to operate its online sportsbook in Nevada and Massachusetts. The company operates Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas in addition to Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts.

According to a press release, operations in New York and Michigan remain under review. WynnBet is one of nine online sportsbooks in NY, the country’s largest legal market. Wynn has an online casino product in Michigan.

WynnBet struggled in NJ sports betting market

In NJ, WynnBet operated its sportsbook and online casino under gaming licenses held by subsidiaries of one of Wynn Resort’s chief competitors, Caesars Entertainment.

Garden State gambling regulators do not release financial data for individual online operators. Instead, digital providers are lumped together under entities with a valid NJ gaming license. As a result, it is nearly impossible to determine any individual online operator’s performance in the state.

However, the licensee whom WynnBet operates under in NJ, Boardwalk Regency, only includes Wynn and the now-defunct 888 Sportsbook. Year-to-date, the license grouping with the one active sportsbook has lost more than $471,000.

WynnBet first launched in NJ in 2020. It is the third NJ online sportsbook to fold in 2023. Yet even more changes are coming to the NJ sports betting landscape.

Fanatics purchased PointsBet Sportsbook‘s US operations earlier this year. Just this week, Penn Entertainment announced a $2 billion, 10-year partnership with ESPN/Disney for the launch of ESPN Bet, which meant the end for Barstool Sportsbook.

Photo by PlayNJ
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Written by
David Danzis

David Danzis is the former lead writer for PlayNJ. He is a New Jersey native and honors graduate of Rutgers University. As a newspaper reporter for the New Jersey Herald and Press of Atlantic City, David earned statewide awards for his coverage of politics, government, education, sports, and business. He served as PlayNJ’s Atlantic City “insider” and gaming industry expert on casinos, sports betting, and online gambling.

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