Top Reasons Why Sportsbooks Go Bankrupt

By arya

There are many reasons why sportsbooks have become so many over time. When you combine the passion for sports with the chance to make money, you’ll definitely attract plenty of customers. However, that is not enough to keep a sportsbook running. There are quite a number of reasons that could make a sportsbook close due to bankruptcy.

  • Fraud


As much as fraudulent sportsbooks make money from unknowing bettors, their life span is very small. These kinds of sportsbooks will use money from new bets to pay the winners they owe. That is not sustainable because you cannot predict how many bettors will invest in your sportsbook or how much money it will be.

After a while, these sportsbooks are unable to pay bettors back and that leads to them collapsing. They could also close due to legal problems associated with their fraudulent ways. Bettors are very keen on identifying scam sportsbooks and warning their friends about them. The sportsbook eventually loses its client base and has no choice but to close down.

  • Prosecution of Owners

This is related to a sportsbook being fraudulent. Online sportsbooks have become very successful and therefore making so much in profits. When that happens in a region where betting laws are tight, the sportsbooks are likely to be investigated to ascertain whether their income is legit.

If anything malicious is discovered, the founder is more than likely to be prosecuted and even jailed. The sportsbook loses a lot of money in penalties and could go into bankruptcy. Some of them go back to business after a while but they never recover fully.

  • Insufficient Start-Up Capital

Sportsbooks are like any other business. For your business to be successful, you must plan ahead and invest heavily. This ensures that you cover any unseen losses and stay in business even during low peak seasons.

Most of these sportsbooks will start with very little and think that they will grow with time. When they suddenly get more betting volume than they had planned for, they end up having no money to pay winners. That’s the beginning of their downhill journey. If you can’t pay back bettors then you can’t make any money either.

  • Rules and Regulations Change in a Licensing Region


When you set up your business in a certain region, you must familiarise yourself with the laws of the land and abide by them. Some regions, however, are so much against the betting culture that they will change the rules from time to time with the intent to kick sportsbooks out of business.

For example, if the corporate tax a sportsbook is expected to pay suddenly doubles, the change will affect its model business and probably lead to bankruptcy. Some end up moving to other regions while others adjust but make very small profits.

As a bettor, you should be able to identify these kinds of sportsbooks so that you can invest your money in a safe place. You should look for the fastest sportsbook in mobile and place your bets there. Those that have very long payout times are a swindle.