SI Casino and SI Sportsbook – Closure Record

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OperatorEvoke plc, formerly 888 HoldingsBrand licenceSports Illustrated name, from Authentic Brands GroupStatesMichigan, Colorado, New Jersey, VirginiaOverall statusClosedClosedFirst quarter of 2025Launched2021Last verified10 September 2026
SI Sportsbook and SI Casino used the Sports Illustrated name under licence. They were run by 888 Holdings, later renamed Evoke. The sites never found enough customers, and Evoke pulled out of American consumer betting. New Jersey and Virginia were sold off and Michigan and Colorado were closed in the first three months of 2025. The main address is now parked and up for sale.
2021LaunchedQ1 2025Closed4States served15th of 15Michigan ranking

01 · The brand

A famous name on a rented sign

Sports Illustrated is one of the best known names in American sport. It does not run a betting company. What happened here is simple. The owner of the name, Authentic Brands Group, let a betting company use it in return for money.

That betting company was 888 Holdings, which later changed its own name to Evoke. The deal started in 2021 and produced SI Sportsbook, and later SI Casino, in Michigan, Colorado, New Jersey and Virginia. All four were proper state licences.

Borrowing a famous name is a common way to get noticed in American betting. Two companies already take most of the money. Everybody else has to compete for what is left. It gets you attention. It does not get you customers who stay.

02 · The shutdown

Last out of fifteen

The numbers tell the story without any help. In Michigan, SI Casino came fifteenth out of fifteen licensed operators. Between June and September 2024 it took under one million dollars a month in gaming revenue. The market leader in that country takes more than a hundred times that in a single state.

Evoke decided to leave American consumer betting altogether. The New Jersey and Virginia businesses were sold. The company said the rest of the exit, meaning Colorado and Michigan, was expected in the first three months of 2025.

It slipped once. The closure was first aimed at late 2024 and was pushed back. That is worth noting only because it shows the wind-down was managed rather than sudden.

It has also been reported that Authentic Brands Group was paid around fifty million dollars to end the naming deal early. We have not seen that figure in a document, so we record it as reported rather than proven.

03 · The money

A managed exit, but the detail is missing

This was a planned withdrawal by a large listed company. Two of the four state businesses were sold to buyers rather than switched off. In that situation player accounts normally move to the buyer or get paid out, and regulators watch it happen.

We have to be straight about the limits of what we found. None of the coverage we read sets out the withdrawal deadlines players were given, or confirms that every balance was settled. We looked and it is not there.

Here is what was good for players. All four were state licensed operations, run by a company still trading today under other names. If a balance was never paid, there is a licensed parent company and a state regulator to turn to. That is far more than most closed casinos leave behind.

The old SI Casino address now redirects to a page offering the domain name for sale. There is nothing left to log into.

If you held an SI Sportsbook or SI Casino balance and it was never paid, there is something you can do. Take it to the gaming regulator in the state you played in. Evoke still trades, so there is a licensed company behind it.

04 · The receipts

How we verified this record

Every claim on this page is graded by how firmly we could check it. Confirmed means we saw it in the operator’s own notice or in a document that cannot easily be faked. Observed means we saw it ourselves on the live site or domain on the date given. Unconfirmed means it has been reported but we could not prove it.

ObservedThe SI Casino address is now a domain for sale pageChecked on 10 September 2026. It redirects to a marketplace listing offering the domain name, with no trace of the casino.
ConfirmedEvoke sold the New Jersey and Virginia businesses and said the Colorado and Michigan exit was expected in the first quarter of 2025Stated in the company own quarterly report and covered by three unrelated outlets.
ConfirmedSI Casino ranked last of Michigan fifteen licensed operators, taking under one million dollars a month between June and September 2024Reported with those figures in trade coverage of the closure.
ConfirmedThe Sports Illustrated name was used under licence from Authentic Brands GroupSet out in coverage of both the launch and the closure.
ConfirmedThe closure was first targeted at late 2024 and then pushed backReported at the time of the delay.
UnconfirmedThat Authentic Brands Group received about fifty million dollars to end the dealReported in trade press without a supporting document.
UnconfirmedWhat withdrawal deadline players were given, and whether every balance was settledNo source we found sets this out.
What we checked, and what we did not. We loaded the old SI Casino address ourselves on 10 September 2026 and recorded where it goes now. We cross-checked the exit timing, the states involved, the Michigan revenue figures and the brand licensing arrangement across three unrelated trade reports and the operator own quarterly statement. We searched for player withdrawal instructions and for complaints about unpaid balances and found neither. We did not contact Evoke plc or Authentic Brands Group. Last independently checked: 10 September 2026.

05 · The questions

SI Casino and SI Sportsbook – the questions still open

Q. When did SI Casino and SI Sportsbook close?

The New Jersey and Virginia businesses were sold, and Colorado and Michigan were closed in the first three months of 2025.

Q. Who actually ran them?

888 Holdings, later renamed Evoke. Sports Illustrated only lent its name, under a licence from Authentic Brands Group.

Q. Why did they close?

They were not making enough money. SI Casino was last of fifteen operators in Michigan and taking under a million dollars a month.

Q. Did Sports Illustrated run a betting company?

No. The magazine brand was rented to a betting operator. The sportsbook and casino were not run by the magazine.

Q. What happened to player balances?

We could not find the withdrawal instructions players were given. Two states were sold to buyers rather than closed, which usually means accounts moved across.

Q. Who do I complain to?

The gaming regulator in the state you played in. Evoke still exists as a company, so there is somewhere for a regulator to point.