Published on: September 30, 2024, 09:15h.
Last updated on: September 30, 2024, 09:15h.
bet365 has chosen Denver as its US headquarters and aims to hire almost 1,000 individuals in the coming years in Colorado’s largest city.
The UK-based gaming giant already has an office in Denver where about 50 people are employed, but its official headquarters is now located at 1701 Platte Street. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) said the gaming company could fill as many 300 roles in its first year calling Denver its US home.
Positions within the new headquarters will include customer service operations, trading, software development and technology, with additional openings in marketing, legal, finance, facilities, human resources and recruitment,” according to a statement issued by OEDIT.
The news emerged about a year-and-a-half after it was revealed an unidentified, Europe-based online gaming company was eyeing Denver for its US home base. At that time, it wasn’t clear that bet365 was the operator in question, but sports betting industry observers indicated the company fit the profile mentioned in filings with the state of Colorado.
bet365 Getting Big Tax Breaks in Colorado
States and cities often use tax incentives to lure companies to their jurisdictions and the same is true of Colorado regarding bet365.
“The Colorado Economic Development Commission (CEDC) approved up to $14,055,942 in a performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit for the company over an eight-year period. These incentives are contingent upon bet365, referred to as Project Forge throughout the OEDIT review process, meeting net new job creation and salary requirements,” according to the press release.
In addition to filling up 1,000 roles at the new headquarters, bet365 probably had a positive impact in terms of temporary job creation because it renovated 120,000 square feet of space in the building. It is expected bet365 will leverage the Denver office to increase awareness of its brand among US bettors.
The gaming company employs more than 7,000 people globally with a smaller number of those positions currently occupied in Denver and New Jersey.
Possible Boost for Colorado Economy
Colorado is one of the fastest-growing states in the US and the same is true of its land-based and online sports wagering markets.
In terms of economic impact by way of the jobs to be created by bet365, that’s not yet clear because average salary data wasn’t revealed, but OEDIT Executive Director Eve Lieberman described the roles as “good-paying.”
At the end of August, Colorado’s unemployment rate was 4%, slightly below the national average of 4.2%.