Superbook Sports‘ struggle with brand identity led to its US-wide downfall according to the Legal Sports Report.

Host of the Legal Sports Report Podcast, Matt Brown, was joined by Adam Candee, Editor in Chief at the Legal Sports Report, to discuss the news that Superbook shuttered its US operation outside of Nevada on July 19.

Brown said that the operator was “trying to play in both sandboxes” with its approach of taking big bets while offering deposit bonuses and boosts, and suggested that it should’ve focused on the first strategy in a similar way to rival operator Circa Sports.

He added: “[It is] a little confusing to a bettor from a brand identity standpoint. It was like a one toe in here, one toe in here and then one toe in here kind of approach and as we all know that’s kind of tough. 

“I think maybe they should have just come in more with the Derek Stevens and Jeff Benson approach over at Circa and just been like hey, you’re not going to get all the bells and whistles that you get at other places, but we’ll take bigger bets. We’re going to try to give you better lines and try to do the best we can to come in and give you some options that you maybe don’t get at other places.”

Superbook is a well-known name on the Las Vegas strip at its Westgate location and it has run its iconic SuperContest since 1988. Created by Art Manteris, players compete in an NFL handicapping competition across the 17 weeks of the NFL regular season with the winner having the chance to win over one million dollars.

When Superbook expanded into different states across the US, it was unable to offer entry into the contest for players outside of Nevada due to the Wire Act, which also inhibited its marketing efforts.

Operator-by-operator data is not available across all US states, however, Superbook held no more than 0.2% of the market in any of the states where a breakdown of handle is available.

On the restrictions, Candee said: “I think that the Wire Act did shut them down more than other sports folks. We talk all about exchanges and liquidity and the ability to work across state lines.

“The SuperContest doesn’t work if you have to run in each state. You don’t have the same buzz running the Tennessee Superbook SuperContest that you do from being in the Vegas-based one. I think it would have been interesting to see if they could have done some state-based ones but I just don’t think it would have had the same juice that the others did.”

Superbook ceased taking bets in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia as of July 19, after announcing its imminent exit on social media. 

The brand will remain active at its flagship retail sportsbook at the Westgate in Las Vegas as well as online in Nevada via the Westgate SuperBook app.