One of the world’s biggest crypto sports books, Sportsbet.io, could be set to close, with owner Tim Heath reportedly considering a move away from grey market wagering.
The Yolo Group, which operates Sportsbet.io and Bitcasino.io, is one of the bigger global players in grey market crypto betting with monthly turnover said to be over AU$5 billion.
Like fellow crypto-betting giants Stake and Shuffle, it is owned by an Australian, with Heath having built Yolo Group into a billion-dollar company which employs over 1000 people.
These operators thrive in markets which do not have specific regulations around online gambling. Australian law expressly prohibits such operators from targeting Australian customers, but that has not prevented from the likes of Stake and Shuffle setting up their operational headquarters in Melbourne.
Yolo is headquartered in Estonia, but Heath, who grew up in Warracknabeal in regional Victoria, relocated to Dubai last year after he was the victim of an attempted kidnapping at his apartment in Tallinn.
The Australian has reported that sources close to Heath are suggesting he is considering exiting the Yolo Group, either shutting the business down, or looking to sell it on, as he focuses on opportunities involving blockchain and gambling in the Middle East.
The report did not quote Heath or Yolo, but said sources had claimed Heath would need to cut his ties with grey market gambling if he was going to pursue his latest opportunities.
He recently penned a Substack entry which said he believed the time was coming for gambling operators to choose whether to be fully regulated or be pushed further towards the black market.
