One-Time Offshore Sportsbook BetCris Readying For Launch In Arizona

One-time offshore sportsbook and currently licensed and regulated Latin American operator BetCris will soon be accepting bets as a mobile sports betting operator in Arizona.

Plannatech Chief Operating Officer Adam Bjorn made the surprise announcement Friday on Twitter/X. BetCris is currently available for sign-up and the mobile app available for download via Apple iOS, with an expectation to launch sometime this week. Bjorn talked about his vision in bringing BetCris to market in a follow-up tweet:

This is part of what my vision has always been @plannatech . For decades sportsbook were stuck in the back, even a loss leader maybe. PASPA repeals and all these casinos start to think theyre bookmakers. Few punches in the nose and theyre back to hiding their sports in the back again.. Be the casino you want to be and give us your sportsbook to run for you.

Plannatech was awarded an event wagering operator license by the Arizona Department of Gaming last August as the designee for the San Carlos Apache Tribal Gaming Enterprise. Bjorn noted at the time the license was awarded that the “opportunity came around fast and the approval even faster.”

The eventual launch of BetCris will give Arizona bettors 14 mobile options. Sporttrade, which was also awarded a license last August, began accepting bets in September and generated $1.7 million handle in its first full month of activity in October.

A look back at BetCris

There was a time when BetCris — then known as CRIS — served U.S. bettors as an offshore sportsbook based out of Costa Rica, but it pulled up stakes in 2007 following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act. The current iteration of BetCris is owned by TV Global Enterprises Limited and obtained its sports betting licenses from Malta.

BetCris has long been the preeminent sportsbook in Latin America and is currently licensed in nine countries, including neighboring Mexico. It became the NFL’s first official league partner for sports betting in Latin America back in September 2020 and became the official betting partner of the NBA for the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama in November 2023.

Having a well-known brand in close proximity to both the U.S.-Mexico border and Las Vegas likely played a role in Plannatech opting for BetCris as its mobile skin over PRIME Sportsbook, given both are well-regarded by “sharp” bettors in the sports wagering space. PRIME currently operates only in Ohio and New Jersey, and its results there have fluctuated notably — which is to be expected from an operator that does not significantly limit bettors.

PRIME has paid out $647,282 in adjusted gross revenue above its $77.1 million handle in the first 11 months of 2024 in Ohio. In New Jersey, PRIME finished 2024 with $490,800 in revenue after absorbing more than $400,000 worth of losses combined in November and December.

The handle duel in the desert intensifies

Arizona saw notable year-over-year handle increase in 2024 thanks to an increasing population and expansive mobile reach. The $6.2 billion in accepted wagers through October represented a 20.2% increase compared to 2023, and gross sports betting revenue surged 27.6% year-over-year.

That growth has put Arizona sportsbooks in position to challenge Nevada — where in-person registration for mobile access is still required — for head-to-head bragging rights throughout the year. The two were separated by only $3.5 million in October after the Grand Canyon State had a record handle of $791.2 million, and Arizona did post higher handle totals in April, May, July, and August.

Arizona’s growth has come despite churn via the loss of smaller operators. WynnBET, TwinSpires, Unibet, Fubo, SuperBook, local-based Sahara Bets, Betfred, and Betway have all come and gone since the first bets were placed in September 2021.

High-profile operators including Hard Rock Bet, bet365, Fanatics, though, have filled that void. They also have helped grow the overall sports wagering pie thanks to state regulations that allow operators to deduct promotional spend against gross revenue.

The San Carlos Apache Tribal Gaming Enterprise had WynnBET as its previous online skin, but it ceased mobile operations last February as part of Wynn Enterprise’s nationwide exit from the sports betting space that began in August 2023.