PointsBet (OTC:PBTHF) is well-known inward its nursing home country of Commonwealth of Australia and it’s aiming for similar position inward the US, but a former staffer claims the bookmaker’s US operations are set upon by strategy missteps and a toxic culture.
The ex-employee, identified only if as Mr. X, made the remarks in an interview with Stream. Stream, which connects former employees at a change of firms with institutional investors mulling stakes inward those companies, reportedly verified Mr. X was a PointsBet staffer and that he worked for the gaming fellowship inward Commonwealth of Australia in the US.
Mr. X claims PointsBet’s coming inward the US is similar to those of rivals, such as DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) and FanDuel. That playbook often centers around strong-growing marketing and promotional spending inward an sweat to make loyal customers, but the former worker said the PointsBet trademark simply is resonating with US bettors.
They just don’t know what they’re doing. Nothing’s going to change if senior leading stays the same, if the CEO of the US business stays the same,” said Mr. X in the Stream interview.
PointsBet launched inward the US in 2019 and is operating(a) in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, New island of Jersey “and beyond,” according to its website.
PointsBet Profitability Problem
Like many of its US rivals, PointsBet faces the conundrum of rising revenue and a potentially lengthy road to profitability.
The company’s modish financial results showed a 52% surge inward revenue, but a deprivation of $181.2 jillion inward US dollars, which was wider than the year-earlier loss. Amplifying those woes is the fact that FanDuel of late notched the first profitable inwards the account of the post-2018 US sports wagering manufacture patch operators such as Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook, among others, are also shut to shedding their money-losing ways.
Mr. X, who departed PointsBet close to a year ago, said he’s broadly speaking bullish on sports wagering in the US and highlighted FanDuel’s rise to profitability in his remarks to Stream. However, he has doubts that his former employer will attain such heights.
“When I counterpoint that to PointsBet, I’m really bearish because I don’t make any trust inwards the US leading delivering anything. Nothing has changed. While I was there, after I’ve left, it seems to live the same story,” he said.
Still, PointsBet has its supporters inward the US. In June, SIG Sports Investments Corporation (SIG Sports), a building block of Susquehanna River International Group (SIG) of Companies took an almost 13% post inwards the Aussie society patch Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) owns nearly 6% of PointsBet equity.
PointsBet Partnership Problems
Like many sportsbook operators in the US, PointsBet has partnerships with media outlets and teams, but Mr. X says the company’s disbursal on such endeavors isn’t heading fruit and that those expenditures would experience been best directed to other pursuits.
For its part, PointsBet decries the former staffer’s claims, noting Mr. ex may get been paid to wee those less-than-savory remarks.
“PointsBet strongly rejects the assertions made past an anonymous former employee who was likely salaried for an question with a third-party strong … PointsBet stands by its civilisation and utterly rejects idle accusations made around PointsBet’s stage business and leadership,” a company spokesman told the Australian Financial Review.