What Happened To Sport Nation, Red Zone & Fansbet? Closed To The UK 30th November 2022

Sport Nation and Red Zone announced they will be closing to the UK on the 30th November 2022.  For customers this means you will not be able to deposit or place bets from this date forward but the site will remain open for a period of time for you to login and withdraw.

Should you be reading this after the site has closed for good on 7th December 2022 you can get in touch with their support to arrange a withdrawal (help@sportnation.bet).

Sport Nation and Red Zone are operated by Argyll Entertainment AG, who are part of the Esports Entertainment Group (EEG), both still solvent and so there is no immediate risk to customer funds.  At present the plan is to remove the portfolio from the UK but to remain active in other markets.

The closure also affects Fansbet too, who operate under the Argyll license in the UK. With Argyll now surrendering their UK license it means Fansbet have to stop operating in the UK at the end of November as well.

It is worth bearing in mind, however, that all of these brands have ‘no protection’ of customer funds.  What this means is customer deposits are stored in a separate account, as stipulated by their license conditions, but those accounts are still part of the company as a whole and so are not protected in the event of insolvency.  It is recommended you withdraw as soon as you can for this reason.

The group have stated that they intend to void all ante-post bets (bets due to settle after 30th November).  Often companies will pay out on bets up to a set date and refund the stakes for the rest but Sport Nation, Red Zone and Fansbet are just voiding all bets, including any on the World Cup that settle after the 30th November.  Any unused free bets or promo funds will be forfeited after this date too.

Who Are Sport Nation & Red Zone?

Sport Nation and Red Zone are operated by Argyll, a group based in Switzerland.  It is a rebranding of the original site known as Bet On Brazil launched in 2016, which was themed around Scotland national player and radio broadcaster Alan Brazil.  The branding didn’t really work out so in 2017 they changed the name to Sport Nation to give a more diverse appeal.

Red Zone was launched in 2017 by the same group and was designed to have a focus on US sports for UK customers, amidst the continued growth of US sports in Britain.  There was certainly a unique appeal for this site but ultimately it proved to be too niche and in the last couple of years especially the site was very much neglected.

The Nasdaq listed EEG bought Argyll in 2020, which was pretty much the time everything started to go downhill for both brands.  EEG bought Argyll to increase their European presence but poor performance and worries about the liquidity of the business as a result of a terrible 2021-2022 meant cost saving became paramount to the firm.  With the UK being a challenging market already and with new rules due to come in the group clearly felt the UK portfolio needed to be cut.

In the third quarter of this year EEG announced $50 million losses caused mostly by writing off eSports assets at the core of the EEG business.  This led to the company halving its cash and asset values and embarking on cost cutting, firstly its eSports platform Vie.gg and now by terminating SN and RZ in the UK.

Before EEG came in the Argyll group had several rounds of investment during their early years in operation in the UK and using this they were able to create two unique sportsbooks and casinos. They were very much liked by customers who regarded highly their focus on odds value and loyalty schemes.  They boasted better retention that most brands and there will be many sad to see them go.

Ultimately this is another case of two good assets being brought down by the failings of a larger group.  If EEG had not bought Argyll and someone else had the sites might still be around today.

Why Are They Closing?

Sadly the signs that things were not right were evident to advertising partners in early 2022 when they stopped getting paid.  The company stated several times that they were seeking new investment to restructure debt or failing that they wanted to find a buyer for the UK arm of the company.

It seems likely that investment was not forthcoming and that there was no buyer available for the Sport Nation or Red Zone brands.  This has led to the company calling time on their UK site.  This is not a move they would make lightly either given the site likely has accounts in the 6 figure range.

The brand even state in their FAQ regarding the closure:

“SportNation is closing for a variety of reasons including the economics of operating a small igaming business in the UK market.”

It probably does not come as a coincidence that they have decided to close the brand before the end of the World Cup, which is the busiest betting event in a four year cycle.  Perhaps they don’t want to be over exposed on World Cup markets given their capital already seems to be in a precarious position.  The fact they are voiding all bets that settle after 30th November also suggests they don’t want to attract bets on the event.

Likewise we should be finally expecting a white paper on the gambling review in the UK very soon.  This will mean further protections and restrictions to ensure safe gambling.  This will require additional vetting, affordability checks and account monitoring.  That all requires money and investment to set up the infrastructure so it could be that pulling out of the UK now saves them needing to implement those changes.

Will They Ever Come Back?

It is possible that the brand name might be sold and could come back again.  This would, however, be under a different license and would mean all customers would have to sign up again.

Likewise EEG themselves could bring it back but that would be a strange move if they allow the UK license to lapse as they would have to source all their customers again.

Ultimately while Sport Nation, and on a more niche level Red Zone, were well liked by punters and players it has tarnished its reputation with advertisers and suppliers and so it would be unlikely we will see these brands in the UK again.

The Closure Affects Fansbet Too

Although Fansbet are not owned by EEG they are operated by Argyll in the UK.  They are effectively a white label, with the brand owned by a different company than the one that holds the license.  Outside of the UK Fansbet are not operated by Argyll.

While Fansbet are not subject to the same issues EEG have they are licensed through Argyll, who are ultimately responsible for customer funds and safe gambling.  With Argyll due to surrender their UK license Fansbet can no longer operate under it and therefore will also close to the UK at the end of November too.

Fansbet may, however, come back if they either get their own license to operate or they move to a different white label provider.

Closure FAQ

Given the Sport Nation, Red Zone and Fansbet sites will not be available after 7th December we have taken a copy of their FAQ below for your future reference: