Prime Sportsbook has filed for bankruptcy, but co-founder Joe Brennan Jr. insists the filing is strictly a financial restructuring that won’t affect daily operations or customer accounts across its three-state footprint.
“This is all behind-the-scenes stuff, restructuring,” Brennan told In Game Wednesday afternoon. “From my understanding from management, the board, and Adam [Bjorn, the other co-founder], there won’t be one second of downtime. Prime Sports in New Jersey, Ohio, and Kentucky will continue to operate unabated and uninterrupted.”
The company emphasized the same message in an email to customers.
“Your balance, pending wagers, and future winnings are all 100% secure and guaranteed. Nothing changes in your ability to play, win, or withdraw,” read the note.
Brennan, who left his operational role at Prime about a year ago but remains informed by management, said the bankruptcy allows the company to address cost structures that no longer align with current market realities.
“Prime is going through, and will have to restructure, a lot of the contracts and costs it signed on to when it first opened up in the marketplace,” he said. “When we first got started five years ago, it was a very different market. Prime needs to bring down its costs and overhead so that it has a better opportunity to be profitable.”
Victim of success
Prime positioned itself as “America’s Sharpest Sportsbook,” deliberately courting pro bettors that other operators limit or ban.
That strategy, while appealing to sharp bettors seeking alternatives to offshore books, has proven financially challenging.
Across the three years the company has been in existence, margins have been razor thin or non-existent. In 2023, the hold percentage was 1.78% on nearly $13 million in bets.
In 2024, the company was in negative territory, with a hold percentage of -1.16% on over $84 million in wagers.
To date in 2025, the hold is at 1.16% on a shade over $70 million in bets.
“Yeah, we take the sharpest guys and the biggest bets. We know it’s going to be a tough row to hoe, but at the same time, we know this business works because there are a lot of people who do it; they’re just not in the licensed, regulated market,” Brennan said. “The question is: How do you operate like this and scale your operations, even accounting for the costs of the regulated U.S. market?”
Taxed out
Brennan pointed to New Jersey’s recent tax increase as pouring gasoline on Prime’s financial pressures. The state raised its sports betting tax to 19.75% on gross gaming revenue, affecting all operators but particularly impacting smaller books.
“We’re New Jersey’s only homegrown sportsbook, and that really cuts into our profitability and ability to pay for operations out of cash flow,” Brennan said. “If the market changes like that, Prime’s going to have to respond by seeing how it can adjust and restructure costs to address it.”
The bankruptcy filing allows Prime to renegotiate contracts and reduce what Brennan called “boomtown costs” from its early days that no longer match market conditions.
“Prime’s carrying a lot of costs at a time when those costs don’t align with the current reality of the marketplace,” he said.
Maintaining identity
Despite the financial restructuring, Brennan emphasized that Prime won’t abandon its core identity as a sportsbook for sharp players.
“There’s no intention at all right now of Prime shutting its doors, shutting down operations, scaling back limits, or scaling back who it is,” he said. “Prime is not going to start limiting guys or kicking guys out.”
The company acknowledged in its customer announcement that management must now make the case for continued confidence.
“We’re working directly with regulators, vendors, and partners to make sure we come out the other side of this even stronger,” the note read.
Brennan conceded that Prime will need to diversify its customer base and find ways to improve its hold percentage to achieve long-term sustainability.
“They definitely have to free up money to acquire a more diverse customer group and innovate on product,” he said. “They do have to find ways of increasing their hold.”
The company’s support team remains available via chat, call, email, or text to address any customer concerns about accounts, withdrawals, or pending bets.
“We’ve got this handled, and we’re focused on the future,” the company stated. “The team’s still here, the lights are still on, and the mission hasn’t changed.”
