What Happened To EnergyBet, EnergyCasino & LVBET? Closed To UK From September 2022
From 13th September 2022 EnergyBet, EnergyCasino and LVBET will no longer accept UK customers ahead of a full exit from the market in the coming weeks. Both Energy and LV and the companies behind them remain solvent and will continue to be active in other markets.
This means all customer money is safe and can be withdrawn through the site as usual. If you wish to withdraw after the EnergyBet site closes to the UK you can do so by contacting their support or via the EnergyCasino site, which remains open until 20th December 2022.
Brands will likely stop accepting new deposits and bets shortly after closing to new registrations. Following this bets that settle in the future will be honoured to a certain date and any ante-post bets placed further in the future will be voided with stakes returned that can then be withdrawn.
While Energy and LVBET are owned by two separate companies, Probe Investments Limited and Fairload Limited respectively, with two separate gambling licenses (Energy / LVBET), ultimately both companies appear to be linked. They share the same operating platform, marketing platform and many employees are listed online as working for both. However, a source at the companies deny this claim and insist that they are independent entities.
Both brands have chosen to exit their sports brands at the same time. This is likely due to the fact that the platform would need to be updated in line with new incoming rules are part of the new white paper, therefore, for them it makes sense to them to remove all the brands at the same time. The group have said that it is
“a business decision following the current market changes in the UK”.
It is surely no surprise that the decision to stop accepting UK customers came just one day after new UKGC rules on action for at risk customers went live on 12th September.
Update On EnergyCasino Closure
EnergyCasino will now stop accepting deposits on 5th December before official closure on 20th December 2022. You can no longer play games from 12th December.
Players will be able to withdraw funds for up to 12 months, after which time any remaining customer money in UK accounts will be donated to charity. This is in line with UKGC expectations on fulfilling withdrawals when exiting the market.
Why Are They Leaving The UK?
The news that both brands are exiting the UK is not that surprising with the new incoming white paper, that has been delayed and delayed, that will introduce more affordability checks and responsible gambling measures.
The timing of the decision coming shortly before new laws are announced means it is likely they don’t want to implement the infrastructure that will be required to adhere to new affordability and responsible gambling rules due to come in. Effectively the UK is becoming less profitable as a result for many smaller companies operating here and many brands based abroad have left the UK in 2022 for the same reasons.
The UK is also a tough market in general with more costs compared to operations in other countries. The level of saturation and the dominance of the super groups like Entain (Ladbrokes, Coral, etc.), Flutter (Paddy Power, Betfair, Sky, etc.) bet365 and William Hill (now part of 888) also means smaller companies have to spend a lot more to maintain competitiveness.
Indeed, following the purchase of William Hill’s UK & European assets by 888 they decided to close the Mr Green sportsbook (Mr Green being owned by William Hill). The closure was already planned for 2022 as Will Hill and 888 already have two big sportsbooks in the UK but was brought forward due to new legislation incoming – showing that even the big players are reducing exposure in the UK market in light of the new expected rules.
Another reason they may have chosen to leave could be due to them expanding elsewhere, with many companies pulling out of the UK to put more effort into North American markets that have now opened up a lot more. Indeed, Novibet exited Britain earlier this year citing that exact reason despite claiming to have 100’s of thousands of UK customers. It is a sign of the market that a company would instantly close 100,000+ active accounts to focus efforts elsewhere.
Energy and LVBET if anything have more customers than Novibet did so it is certainly a strategic decision on behalf of the companies. It clearly makes more financial sense to them to stop offering gambling services to their UK customers, that likely number in the 6 figures, rather than implement updates that are going to be required under new laws.
While we do not know if Energy and LV have plans to focus their efforts more in North American markets if they are following what other brands have done it is a logical conclusion.
Who Are Energy And LVBET?
Probe Investments, the company behind EnergyBet and EnergyCasino, was established in 2012 and got their UK license in 2016 shortly after they launched their sportsbook. Fairload Limited started out in 2015 with LVBET and brought them to the UK in 2017. Both are based in Malta and will keep their Malta Gaming Authority license and will continue to operate outside the UK.
Both brands were well established in the UK and were some of the only new incumbents to make a dent in the established order dominated by the big names. A lot of that success came from the fact they were a bit different, the platform was sleek and professional but also vibrant and lively. They were particularly known for high existing customer retention through various points schemes and promotions that were applicable to a wide range of users.
They were also renowned for offering more markets and betting opportunities in markets not covered as deeply by UK-focused sites. Things like eSports, motor racing and athletics were covered in depth and they also provided many more European sports and markets less common elsewhere.
Over time both brands gained a good following and their unique approach was recognised with various industry rewards in the early days. The news that both brands have left is a shock in the sense that they were one of a small group that seemed to be succeeding in the UK, which may mean a lot more companies are still to follow in the coming months.
Indeed, until recently both brands pushed hard in the UK with Energy sponsoring the likes of Milwall, Leyton Orient and Aston Villa as well as top athletes and teams across a variety of sports.
LV sponsored West Brom only last season along and were previous sponsors of the National League. It is clear, therefore, both companies have been aggressive in the UK in the past and have not left the market due to a lack of exposure.
Neither Energy or LVBET received any public fines or sanctions by the UKGC in their years operating in the UK. That is a significant achievement given the gambling body has been particularly stringent of late. Many brands exit the UK following sanctions or license suspensions but as far as Energy and LV go they were always on the good side of the rules.
Will They Come Back?
It is unlikely we will see either brand back in the UK for sports in the near future. They will keep their UK license for now as they are still operating on the casino side.
Effectively both brands are giving up a lot of customers by choosing the exit the UK sports betting scene and it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to cut that account base to then come back to the market within a few years, needing to do all of the hard work again.
Never say never but instincts here are this will be the last you see of LV and Energy for sports in the UK while they are under their current ownership.
