Knock, Knock, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, bet365 Makes Magic Move On Arizona

The clichés abound: home of the magnificent Grand Canyon, land of legendary Apache warrior Geronimo, backdrop of John Ford’s greatest western movies, gateway to the riches of California; bet365, perhaps the UK’s premier, certainly the most astute, online gamer has made a magic move on the state of Arizona.

The Midlands-based betting firm, forged by the Coates family from a handful of traditional high street bookies, has now gained its seventh digital gaming licence in the explosive, fast-expanding US sports betting and iGaming market.

This week the regulatory Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) confirmed that bet365 had been awarded a licence, or so-called “skin”, in associated agreement with the Native American Ak-Chin Indian tribe, one of 20 gambling licence holders in the south-western state.

Already live in Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey, Iowa and Colorado, and soon-to-be in the Bluegrass State, home of the storied Kentucky Derby horse race, this marks bet365’s seventh jurisdiction in its slowly-slowly, under-the-radar conquest of America.

The masters of in-play have played the US iGaming scene like the seasoned pros they are.

But will bet365 be able to succeed where other “native” sportsbooks, such as Fubo and, most recently, WynnBET, have failed and scattered back to base?

The answer would appear to be a resounding: “Yes”. In keeping with pretty much everything touched by the magic, guiding hand of Denise Coates (pictured), bet365’s CEO and consistently the UK’s biggest tax payer.

In an industry often rocked by scandal–see bet365 rivals Entain and 888.com–, her improbably Stoke-on-Trent-based gaming giant has never been touched by controversy — despite the best efforts of investigative mainstream media.

In Ohio, where it only launched at the start of this year, bet365 has already overtaken higher-profile US operators BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook.

Market leaders Flutter’s FanDuel and DraftKings are now in their sights.

Back to Arizona, favoured haunt of the western shoot-out and, more recently, a place where decommissioned jet liners go to die; neither fate awaits Britain’s best, bet365.

Besides, the riches of California lie just across the state line.

And you can bet365 that Ms. Coates and her inspired cohorts will be there, perfectly poised, when the starting pistol for the new Great iGaming Gold Rush is fired.