MansionBet Sportsbook to Close
Betting and gaming operator Mansion Group has announced that it plans to close its sportsbook division. MansionBet will cease its operations on March 31st. The difficult decision follows a review of market conditions in the UK. Upcoming changes to betting regulations are also a contributing factor. Meanwhile, the operator has shifted its focus to expanding its international ventures.
MansionBet has forged a number of successful partnerships with Premier League clubs over the years. ©Tembela Bohle/Pexels
A Difficult Decision
Mansion Group has revealed that its flagship betting brand will cease trading at the end of the month. The move comes as Mansion shifts its focus to concentrate on its casino brands. MansionBet will officially close on March 31st. CEO of Mansion Group, Christian Block announced the news, stating:
“After careful deliberation, we have decided to cease trading our MansionBet brand. The commercial decision was a difficult one, but it does provide opportunity to focus on our casino brands, where we have a long history of excelling.”
Mansion is best known for its namesake brand, MansionCasino. The online casino site is Mansion’s longest-serving venture and has been in business since 2004. Its software is provided courtesy of Playtech, and the site has a wide range of classic card, slot and poker games on offer.
The operator is also responsible for popular brands including Casino.com and Slots Heaven. Casino.com has been offering an array of gaming products to audiences worldwide since 2007. In 2013, Mansion launched Slots Heaven, focusing on the best slots to be found online.
While Mansion’s online casino brands have gone from strength to strength, it appears that the operator’s betting division has fared less well in recent years. An internal review found that a combination of competitive market conditions and changing regulations in the UK was impacting the viability of the business.
The British government is currently conducting an extensive review of the Gambling Act, which has remained largely unchanged since its introduction in 2005. A thorough overhaul is expected, as the government is under pressure from campaigners and MPs to crack down on the industry.
Potential changes to legislation could include a ban on gambling firms sponsoring football club shirts, the introduction of a sports rights levy and online stake limits. Such changes have been proposed with the intention of making gambling safer and fairer for consumers. However, curbs could make a significant dent in operators’ profit margins.
Premier League Partners
The MansionBet brand was first founded in 2018, when the group relaunched its sports betting services. The online bookmaker shot to popularity thanks to a number of high-profile football sponsorships. Partnerships with various Premier League clubs put MansionBet in the public eye, helping it to grow its customer base.
For four years, from 2006, Mansion was the official shirt sponsor for Tottenham Hotspur FC. In 2011, the operator signed a lucrative deal, becoming Manchester City’s official International Betting Partner. In 2015, it went on to form partnerships with Premier League sides AFC Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.
At present, MansionBet is the Official Partner of EFL Championship teams Bristol City and Millwall FC. Its brand ambassadors have been recruited from across the world of sport, and include jockeys Hayley Turner OBE and Brian Hughes, alongside football-mad comedian Darren Farley.
Responding to the news that MansionBet is set to close for good before the end of the month, Bristol City released a statement on the situation. MansionBet will stand down as the club’s Principal Partner at the end of March. Players will continue to sport the operator’s logo on the front of first team shirts until the end of the current campaign.
Bristol City took the opportunity to thank MansionBet for its unwavering support over the last two seasons. The club has advised any of its supporters that have questions concerning their MansionBet accounts to contact the brand’s customer support team directly.
MansionBet has assured its customers that to minimize the impact on them, it is committed to paying out future winnings and will return stakes regardless of outcome. Customers will be able to log in to their accounts until April 28th to withdraw funds as normal. After that time, the MansionBet customer support team will help to carry out any manual withdrawals for a period of a year.
The operator has also disclosed that customers with open bets that have not been settled after April 28th will receive their stake back. If their bet wins, they will also be given their winnings via a manual payment. The operator will continue this practice until April 28th 2023 to ensure that players’ funds and existing bets are handled properly.
International Growth
As well as renewing its focus on its existing online casino brands, Mansion has indicated that it is exploring the potential of expanding its international operations. In Europe, placing greater emphasis on its Spanish operations could prove fruitful. The Group is also actively expanding its North American outreach.
It has already applied for an operating license for its Casino.com brand in the Canadian province of Ontario. The online gambling market in Ontario is due to launch on April 4th, and a strong turnover has been predicted. It will be the first province to operate a private market for online gambling, although the launch could be impeded by legal challenges from the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.
Mansion’s Asia-facing online gambling brand M88 Mansion has also unveiled an exciting new partnership with the Badminton World Federation. The agreement, which is set to run until 2024, will see M88 Mansion act as official betting partner at the BWF’s major championships.
Events included in the deal are the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals later this year and in 2024. M88 Mansion will also sponsor the BWF World Championships for 2022 and 2023, as well as next year’s BWF Sudirman Cup Finals.
Speaking on behalf of the Badminton World Federation, Commercial and Communications Director Owen Leed was optimistic that the deal would help to elevate the profile of the sport worldwide. More exciting engagements between the two new partners have been teased, and will be revealed over the coming months. M88 Mansion’s Creative Director, Carlos Lopez stated:
“We are very much delighted and thrilled to partner with BWF over the next three years. Badminton is recognized as a worldwide sport and has a fast-growing audience not only in Asia but globally. Joining forces with BWF will help elevate the connection between M88 Mansion and its Asian followers to expand its brand visibility in the region.”
