As Brexit approached in the United Kingdom, it led to many British businesses considering their options, one of which was to expand to the United States. This led to several British entrepreneurs launching their businesses and products in the US, with fintech business Divido being a good example.
The company opened an office in New York in 2018 and Divido CEO Christer Holloman said, “We were fortunate in having both Mastercard and American Express as investors. Between them, they know everything about the consumer finance industry in the U.S. and were instrumental in getting us up to speed and introducing to lenders and retailers.”
The reason the experience of Mastercard and American Express was key is due to the complex US market, with each state having its own rules and regulations. This is perhaps more evident in the betting industry.
Bet365 is now available in the US and the Bet365 mobile app can be installed on mobile devices in the country. However, as it is not legal to bet in every state in the United States, Bet365 have not been able to launch their product throughout the country and have instead been forced to focus on specific states. Bet365 first launched in New Jersey 2019, as this was one of the first states to introduce legislation allowing for online sports betting.
By launching in the United States, Bet365 were taking on already established Us gambling brands, such as like DraftKings and FanDuel. This did not deter Bet365, who already had experience of expanding successfully across Europe. In addition to entering the New Jersey market, Bet365 have also entered the Colorado market and have further plans to expand into New York.
As all good businesses attempt to do when launching, Bet365 ensured the opening of their sports betting offering in New Jersey coincided with a big event, the start of the NFL season. Bet365 is not the only British gambling business making a success in the US and William Hill is also making strides in the US market. William Hill estimates potential sports betting revenues in the US could reach as much as $19 billion by 2023 and to have a slice of that pie is crucial for betting companies around the world, including those in the UK.
Moving away from gambling and Radical Tea Towel is a further example of what can be achieved when a British business expands to the United States. Having notice they were getting some sales from the US, the husband and wife team decided to establish a presence in the US and start shipping to American customers directly from the states. It worked and in 2019, US sales represented around 20% of total sales and the following year the figure exceeded 50%.