Bet365 Joins Sports Betting Alliance

A New Player in the Alliance

SBA President Jeremy Kudon confirmed the move, calling it a milestone. “I’m excited to have bet365 in the SBA,” Kudon said. “Six years ago, I never thought we’d see them here.”

The addition strengthens the group’s clout as it lobbies for transparent, regulated sports betting and online casino gaming, known as iGaming, across all 50 states.

The SBA, a leading industry group, unites top U.S. betting firms to promote legal wagering with robust consumer safeguards. Its members operate only in states where betting, online or in-person, is regulated, ensuring compliance with strict rules on age verification, geolocation, and deposit limits.

The group pushes for policies that protect players and steer them away from illegal markets, which lack tools for responsible gaming. In 2022, SBA members set industry-first responsible gaming standards, hiring over 200 staff dedicated to these programs.

Bet365’s Strategic Shift

Bet365, founded in 2000 by Denise Coates in Stoke-on-Trent, England, is a global betting titan with a Denver-based North American headquarters. Its U.S. expansion began in 2019 with a New Jersey launch, partnered with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Now active in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia, bet365 has prioritized the U.S. betting market.

Recent moves, like exiting China and transferring ownership of Stoke City FC, aim to streamline operations and appeal to American investors. Joining the SBA aligns with this focus, giving bet365 a platform to shape U.S. regulations. Despite trailing DraftKings and FanDuel, bet365’s 4% U.S. market share, compared to 10% in the UK, shows steady growth.

Lobbying for Legalization

The SBA has driven sports betting legalization in states like Kentucky, North Carolina, and Vermont in 2023, and Missouri in November 2024, where bet365 partnered with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The group’s efforts helped launch competitive markets in these states, with Missouri’s online betting set for December 2025. In Washington, D.C., the SBA worked with lawmakers in 2024 to shift from a single-operator model to a competitive one, boosting consumer choice.

Bet365’s presence in the SBA amplifies these efforts, especially in states like California, Texas, and New York, where it lacks online licenses. The alliance also fights restrictive taxes, like Illinois’s 2024 per-bet levy, which the SBA called “discriminatory” after mobilizing 76,000 letters to lawmakers, though the tax passed.

Bet365’s SBA membership boosts its influence as it eyes expansion into states like Missouri and potentially New York, where it holds a retail license with Empire Resorts but no online access. The SBA’s lobbying muscle, now fortified, will likely target states with pending bills, like Georgia, where 2024 efforts fell short.