LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Wynn Resorts is shutting down its WynnBET sports betting and iGaming app in eight states, but will continue to offer it in Nevada and Massachusetts. Operations in New York and Michigan are under review, the company said.
Wynn — like other gaming giants — has been pouring money into sports betting and iGaming in an attempt to get a share of the highly competitive market. But while other companies are starting to see profits, Wynn’s balance sheet is still bleeding red on the app. Losses had been reduced, but they were still losses.
Sports betting and iGaming operations will cease “as soon as possible” in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, according to a Friday news release. Nevada and Massachusetts will be unaffected by the decision, the company 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,” Julie Cameron-Doe, Chief Financial Officer of Wynn Resorts, said Friday.
As casinos come back to life in Macau and business continues to flourish in Las Vegas, investors were asking questions this week about the lingering drain on cash. Wynn’s move to cut losses in the eight states could signal that competition has sorted out the winners and losers at this point.
During this week’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Craig Billings answered investors’ questions about interactive gaming.
“I don’t think we ever said it would be breakeven in the fourth quarter,” he said.
Wynn’s project in the United Arab Emirates and continued good news out of China was the focus of the majority of the questions.
