- Betsson Group has launched in Colorado with their Betsafe Sportsbook brand in partnership with Dostal Alley Casino.
- Betsson is also opening an office in downtown Denver to support regional B2B and B2C offerings.
- Parent company Betsson AB employs over 1,800 people in ten offices worldwide.
Betsson’s arrival in Colorado has been a long time coming. They originally announced plans to enter the ‘pound for pound’ best sports betting market in the US in July 2020. At the time, they planned to go live with their mobile sportsbook platform in early 2021. That date was pushed back to the second half of 2021, and then the 1st half of 2022. The first indication that a launch was forthcoming was Betsson’s appearance on the licensing docket for Colorado’s gaming regulators.
Betsson has now gone live in Colorado with their mobile sportsbook platform under the Betsafe brand. The company has a variety of B2C facing sports betting brands but ‘Betsafe’ clearly makes the most sense for the US market. It’s not like they could go with ‘Europebet’ or ‘NordicBet’ in Colorado. Their Colorado facing URL is https://co.betsafe.com/ where they have download links for their iOS mobile app with the Android app listed as ‘Coming Soon’.
Betsson’s partner in Colorado is the Dostal Alley Casino Restaurant & Microbrewery in Central City. Dostal Alley is the kind of property that you’ll *only* see in Central City plus they serve up IMO the best pizza in town. Here’s what we said about the Betsson/Dostal Alley partnership at the time it was announced in July 2020:
One of the latest entrants is a company well known in Europe but making their first foray into the United States market. Stockholm based Betsson has announced a deal to offer online betting in Colorado partnering with Dostal Alley Casino in Central City. Betsson is planning to launch their mobile app in early 2021 as always ‘subject to regulatory approval’. Betsson AB is the holding company behind the brand and they hold gaming licenses in 12 jurisdictions and employ 1,600 people in 10 offices around the world. That will soon be 11 offices–they’re planning to open an office in Denver to spearhead their entry into the US market. Funny how it works when you do sports betting right like Colorado has–companies move into the state bringing jobs, investment, etc. That’s a much better plan than just making sports betting a gimmick game for the lottery as a number of states have done.
Gee, funny how right we were. Colorado is the best sports betting jurisdiction in the US from a player’s perspective. They’ve also attracted several sportsbooks to open offices in the Denver area including PointsBet, Tipico and now Betsson. Betsson’s new office and the growth of Denver as a business center for the sports betting industry is the biggest story no one is talking about (except me). Betsson will run their regional B2B and B2C operations out of Denver. Their Colorado license lists their office address as 999 18th Street which is the Denver Place office complex. Assuming they’re not using this as a ‘virtual address’ they’ve chosen a great location to base their operations. It’s really right in the middle of everything including Coors Field, Union Station, the downtown business district and the Grand Hyatt Denver–my ‘home away from home’ in the 303. Here’s a tip, guys–if this is where your offices are you should put it in your job recruitment listings since the location makes an already desirable gig even more so.
Here’s the official announcement of the Colorado launch from the Betsson press release:
Earlier today, Betsson launched its mobile app sportsbook product under the Betsafe brand in the state of Colorado, in partnership with Dostal Alley Casino. The Business-to-Consumer (B2C) launch of Betsafe serves as an opportunity to showcase Betsson’s proprietary, U.S.-adapted sportsbook for new and existing operators on the market, making it an important component of the company’s Business-to-Business (B2B) strategy in the country.
In connection with the launch, Betsson has also opened an office in downtown Denver, whose primary purpose is to support regional B2B operations and an Account Director for the B2B offering in the United States has been recruited. B2C operations will also be run from the Denver office and a Managing Director for the B2C offering is already on the ground.
Pontus Lindwall, CEO and President of Betsson AB, is happy to see his company’s brand launch in a North American jurisdiction:
“The launch of our proprietary sportsbook in the U.S. is an important milestone. We are entering a new continent, expanding Betsson’s global reach and further solidifying our B2B and B2C ambitions, thanks to many months of hard work by our product and technology teams to craft a product customised for the U.S. market.”
Congrats to Betsson on the launch and good job setting up an office in Denver. It sure beats New Jersey. On a final note, I happen to have a great picture of the Dostal Alley Casino and this is the perfect opportunity to post it:
