Online gambling company evoke plc has announced that its planned exit from the US business-to-consumer (B2C) market is delayed until Q1 2025.
The move was supposed to come during the current quarter, so SI Casino customers in Michigan still have at least a few months to play on the site.
Key Highlights
- SI Casino was consistently last in the Michigan revenue rankings.
- evoke partnered with Sports Illustrated in 2021 for SI-branded online sportsbooks and casinos.
- The company ended its SI partnership in March 2024, paying SI’s parent company $50 million.
- evoke sold its US B2C business to Hard Rock in March and planned to exit the market by the end of 2024.
SI Casino Customers Have a Little Time Left
Formerly 888 Holdings, evoke (yes, all lowercase) originally intended to wrap things up in the United States B2C market in Q4 2024.
Apparently, there are still some i’s to dot and t’s to cross, so it won’t happen until sometime next quarter.
In its “Q3 2024 trading update” from October, evoke said, “Conclusion of sale of New Jersey and Virginia businesses with full exit from US B2C now expected in Q1 2025 with the sale of Colorado and Michigan.”
That means the customers of the lone remaining evoke B2C business, SI Casino Michigan, still have time to play their favorite games before they need to find another site.
Dead Last in Michigan
evoke is a powerful company in the worldwide gambling industry, owning the 888 and William Hill brands. And though 888 was a well-known name, the company decided to rebrand to evoke earlier this year.
In September 2024, for instance, it placed 15th out of 15, the only online casino in the state to do less than $1 million in revenue.
But despite the company’s historical success in the industry, it was never able to establish itself in the United States market. Its only site that had any real staying power was 888casino in New Jersey.
In Michigan, SI Casino was repeatedly at the bottom of the revenue rankings.
In September 2024, for instance, it placed 15th out of 15, the only online casino in the state to do less than $1 million in revenue. For comparison, market leader DraftKings generated over $38 million in revenue that month.
SI Brand Had No Pull in Sports Betting
It was a similar story in the sports betting business. evoke, then 888, partnered with Sports Illustrated in 2021, thinking that the iconic media brand would attract sports bettors.
The company signed a 20-year deal with SI parent Authentic Brands Group that gave Authentic an option to acquire as much as 20% of evoke’s US B2C business.
evoke opened SI Sportsbooks in a few states, but they could not compete with the likes of DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars.
In March 2024, evoke broke its licensing agreement with Authentic Brands, agreeing to pay its former partner $50 million to do so. Half of the payment was made immediately, while the other half will be paid between 2027 and 2029.
The SI Sportsbooks that evoke had left at that point have since shut down.
evoke Calls It Quits in America
The end of the Sports Illustrated partnership marked the beginning of the end for evoke in the US B2C market.
The same month that evoke got out of its partnership with SI, it sold its US B2C assets to Hard Rock Digital. It is the completion of that sale that is delayed until the first quarter of 2025.
evoke is not out of the US altogether, though. On the B2B side, it still supplies its online poker software to WSOP Online. It used to be the iGaming provider in Delaware, but after its 10-year contract ended, the Delaware Lottery switched to Rush Street Interactive in January 2024.
The question that still remains is whether or not another company will take over evoke’s Michigan gaming license. The state has a maximum of 15 online gaming sites, each of which must be associated with a retail casino.
SI Casino is partnered with the Island Resort & Casino, which is owned by the Hannahville Indian Community. A natural buyer for the SI license would be Hard Rock since it bought evoke’s US assets, but that remains to be seen.
If SI doesn’t sell its license, the Michigan licensing slot will become open, allowing other companies to apply for it.
Sources
https://www.evokeplc.com/application/files/1917/2920/4957/Q3_2024_Trading_Update.pdf
https://www.playmichigan.com/online-casino/revenue/
https://www.pokernewsdaily.com/888-to-pay-sports-illustrated-50-million-to-get-out-of-sportsbook-partnership-42040/
