5Dimes Quits US, Hints at Possible Regulated Betting Market Entry

Offshore sports betting operator 5Dimes informed its customers on Monday that it would shutter its US operations later this month, suggesting that it would seek to enter the regulated US betting space.

In a notice on its website, the operator told its US customers that it would stop taking bets from 12 ET on September 21.

5Dimes advised its customers to request their balances by 12 am ET on September 25. Any customer funds that remain unrequested by 12 am ET on September 30 “will be transferred to a third-party claims administrator who will seek to deliver the funds to the account holder.” And any customer funds that cannot be delivered by 12 am ET on September 30, 2021 “will be deemed abandoned by the accounts holder”, as per 5Dimes’ message.

5Dimes was founded in San Jose, Costa Rica by William Sean ‘Tony’ Creighton, widely known in the gambling community as 5Dimes Tony. The sports betting and casino gaming operator is one of the biggest offshore companies to be targeting US players, despite the current regulations in place.

The popular gambling website made regular appearances in headlines last year after the kidnapping of its founder in Costa Rica and the eventual discovery of his body in a local cemetery.

5Dime Hints at Possible Regulated US Entry

In its message, 5Dimes suggested that it plans to enter the regulated US sports betting space, saying that with “the evolving legal landscape in the United States, we want to take advantage of the opportunity to offer an improved online sports betting experience.”

The operator further noted that in order to achieve the above goal it needs to temporarily suspend its US operations so that it can “launch our new operations with a fresh start.”

While it is clear that 5Dimes will seek to enter the US market in future, its notice provides little insight into how exactly it plans to do that. It is yet to be seen whether the operator will use its well-known brand or will undergo corporate restructuring before it makes steps toward obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals to operate in a regulated environment.

Global Market Advisors consultant Brendan Bussmann said that while 5Dimes’ intent seems to be good, this “brings to light additional questions of who will be their US partner and how they will pas suitability on a state by state basis.”

Mr. Bussmann added that for the operators that have provided illegal services in the US, “some regulators have a long memory and it may take some time before they will even be able to be licensed or operate.”

It should be noted 5Dimes’ announcement that it is quitting the US has a really weird timing, given the fact that the new NFL season is set to kick off later this week. This, in addition to the fact that the operator is set to transfer any customer funds to a third-party claims administrator, suggests that legal troubles of some sort might be forcing the operator to quickly leave the US betting space.

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