The Yolo Group has confirmed that it will shutter its global Sportsbet.io and Bitcasino.io brands and focus on a single regulated Yolo crypto casino brand.
Yolo, founded by Australian Tim Heath, has become one of the biggest grey market crypto operators in the world. Initially licenced in Curacao of then established a headquarters in Estonia, where it also had a land based casino.
In a Substack post on Tuesday, Heath said it was time for Yolo to take the path into regulated markets as it was clear it couldn’t further its business goals while still existing in a grey market landscape.
“It has become abundantly clear that domestic regulators who are offering licenses are not keen on other group operations continuing to operate in pre-regulated markets. In other words, you cannot be white and grey; you have to pick a side,” he said.
“It’s therefore our responsibility to bring the crypto casino experience to regulated domestic markets, working within sensible frameworks and combining speed and freedom with safety and oversight.”
“That’s why we’ve decided it’s time for our next chapter: to bring the best of what we’ve built into Tier-1 regulated markets.”
Heath said the future strategy of the company was focussed on a single, unified and Tier 1 licensed brand: Yolo.com, licensed in Estonia with a pending vendor licence out of the UAE, which is in the process of being obtained.
“We have spent the past three years monitoring and preparing for the potential of this strategic shift,” he said.
“We are in the final stages of being awarded two GCGRA B2B Vendor licenses, and we’ll continue developing in Estonia before expanding into markets like Canada, Sweden and Finland.
“The direction is clear: the regulated landscape is the future of gaming, and we’re ready to lead with the same fearless innovation that got us here.”
Heath described the Sportbet.io and Bitcasino.io days as “a crazy ride to the moon.”
