Customers of the online betting brand BlackType will be relieved to know that their accounts and funds are safe, despite BlackTypes management announcing that they are winding down their business affairs.
That’s right, the company that launched in 2016 has already come to the end of the road citing increased regulatory pressures on the betting sector as a key factor in their decision to close.
BlackType were a white label of FSB Tech, a huge platform with many other online bookies operating under their license.
The White Label Situation
If you don’t already know, a white label company is basically a new brand that uses a pre-established company’s platform and licence. It is a cheap and quick way for a brand to establish itself and get to market, since most of the groundwork has already been done.
So Blacktype were essentially a marketing partner who promoted gambling services operated by FSB under their own brand. Thus, customers will not be affected in any way because, as FSB said themselves, they are:
“the licensed operator for the account you hold on the Black Type branded website”
So breathe a sigh of relief; all bets still stand and all withdrawals will still be processed. If you need further reassurance then this is from FSB’s official statement:
“We can assure you that your deposited funds are ring-fenced, safe and securely held in our segregated client funds bank accounts at Barclays.”
In essence, customers have always been gambling with FSB since day one. The fact that the company that owned the brand, Black Type Services Ltd, have gone into administration, does not change this.
The full statement is here:
The Future of BlackType
BlackType will continue to operate as a skin of FSB Tech. This means that FSB have taken over the running of the brand and all indications show they intend to keep it going.
Speaking about how this will affect bettors registered with BlackType, the CEO of FSB Dave McDowell said:
“Black Type has always been a white-label partner of FSB’s. All the customer funds and open bets are 100 per cent protected and the end users should not be affected by this transitional period.”
So whereas before most of the customer facing work like marketing was done by Black Type Services Ltd while FSB handled all the technical aspects, now FSB is responsible for all of it.
A Bit of History
The company was launched in 2016 with the promise that they would never exclude winning customers. This may not sound like much of a pledge if you are new to sports betting, but successful bettors often have their accounts closed for doing too well.
One of their main focuses was horse racing, they even had Mylo Sangster – grandson of famed horse trainer and breeder Robert Sangster – as an associate, but shortly after launching one of the founders, Dave Gowers, departed.
His business partner and fellow ex Kambi employee, Craig Nicholsen followed suit in 2018, and the company went to ex Totesport executive, Keith Oliver.
And now we are where we are.
If nothing else, this incident highlights the problem with white labels: they are under a lot of financial pressure due to having to split profits with their license holder, and often don’t have the resources to weather a storm like the bigger brands do. The fact that many fail to retain the interest of bettors after the initial honeymoon period is over is a double whammy in such a crowded market, and spells the end for many white labels.