Esports Betting Sites That Have Shut Down (and Where to Bet Instead)
The esports betting market has consolidated hard over the last few years. A number of brands that used to be recommended across esports betting content — including on this site — have gone offline, stopped accepting new players, or pivoted away from consumer betting entirely. If you're still holding a balance on one of these, or just wondering why a site you remember isn't around anymore, here's what actually happened.
Unikrn — shut down October 20, 2023
Unikrn, once one of the most recognizable esports-native bookmakers (Malta Gaming Authority licensed, its own Unikoin Gold cryptocurrency), was shut down by owner Entain on October 20, 2023. The site now serves a plain notice that betting closed on that date and the platform is no longer accessible. Entain repositioned away from consumer esports betting entirely rather than selling or relaunching the brand.
Luckbox — B2C betting closed October 2023
Real Luck Group closed Luckbox's consumer-facing betting platform in October 2023, with a "Sorry, we're closed" notice and a withdrawals-only wind-down period. The company pivoted to a B2B-only model, licensing its platform to other operators rather than taking bets directly. As of mid-2026, luckbox.com's domain no longer resolves at all (DNS lookup fails) — the wind-down is complete.
LootBet — effectively dead
Through 2025, users reported the site going dark for weeks at a time, unresponsive support, and withdrawals stuck in limbo — with no official closure announcement. As of mid-2026, loot.bet's DNS still resolves, but there's no real site behind it: just a bare nginx 404 page served over an invalid/self-signed TLS certificate, the signature of abandoned server infrastructure nobody's maintaining anymore rather than an active business.
Fansbet — dead, domain gone
Fansbet (operated via Esports Entertainment Group) stopped accepting new UK players on November 30, 2022, then stopped accepting new players entirely from January 5, 2024. The domain now returns a 404.
buff.bet — domain parked for sale
buff.bet's domain now redirects to a GoDaddy "domain for sale" page. No official closure statement was found, but the operator is gone.
Mr Play — closed May 28, 2026
The most recent closure on this list. Mr Play shut down after its platform/software partner Aristocrat pulled out of the arrangement — ownership was explicit that this wasn't a regulatory or financial-scandal issue, just a partner exit that ended the platform.
STSbet — withdrew from the UK and Estonia, February 2023
STSbet.com stopped serving the UK and Estonia in February 2023: existing accounts went dormant, unused free bets and bonus funds were forfeited, and a €5 dormancy fee has applied to any remaining balance since June 2024. Unlike most sites on this page, the company behind it didn't go anywhere — STS Group is Poland's market-leading bookmaker (acquired by Entain in 2023 for roughly £750 million) and its real site, sts.pl, is very much live. It just isn't accessible to English-speaking players anymore: sts.pl is Polish-language only, with no English version we could find. For our readers, that makes STS a dead end either way.
Scam warning: while checking on STS, we found sts-bet.com — a look-alike domain with no connection to the real STS. It reuses the same generic "150% up to £1,000 + 280 free spins" bonus banner on every single page (About Us, Betting, Bonuses all show identical content), which is a solid tell for a thin templated site rather than a real, licensed sportsbook. Don't deposit there on the strength of the STS name.
What about Rivalry?
Rivalry hasn't formally shut down, but as of early 2026 it's in serious trouble: the company suspended player activity and laid off roughly half its staff in February 2026 while it explores a sale or restructuring, after a cease-trade order from the Ontario Securities Commission. We're not listing it as a recommended site while this is unresolved — if you have a balance there, stick to withdrawals only until the situation is clearer.
Where to bet on esports instead
All of the sites below are active, licensed, and currently accepting esports bets:
See our full esports betting sites guide for the complete, up-to-date list.