Betfair pulling out of a dozen countries

Betfair, the British-based exchange-wagering company that owns Television Games Network, plans to withdraw from a dozen countries where the company has faced difficult regulatory conditions or questions about its legality, the company said on Thursday when announcing financial results for the past six months.

The countries include Germany, Greece, Canada, and Russia. All together, the countries that Betfair will withdraw from accounted for about 24 percent of its revenue in the last fiscal year, the company said.

The company’s financial statements said that it will maintain its investment in TVG, which is owned and operated by a subsidiary called Betfair U.S. The statements said that in the last six months Betfair U.S. had revenue of $26.5 million, up 9 percent over the same period last year.

Betfair U.S. has been seeking approvals to offer exchange wagering in the U.S., principally in California, where rules that would allow for exchange wagering are under state review.

The financial statements released Thursday said that Betfair U.S.’s “exchange investment” was “on-hold pending licensing clarity.” Officials for Betfair U.S. did not return phone calls on Thursday seeking an explanation of the statement.

– Matt Hegarty