News
William Hill and Eldorado Resorts enter US partnership
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Extends William Hill US’ leadership in sports betting through access to Eldorado’s leading regional casino portfolio and customer base of 23 million people
William Hill becomes Eldorado’s exclusive partner in provision of digital and land-based sports betting and online gaming
Closely aligned partnership to deliver on US opportunity, with William Hill retaining control and strategic flexibility
LONDON, Sept. 5, 2018 — William Hill PLC (LSE: WMH) today announces that William Hill US (“William Hill“) and Eldorado Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERI) have entered into a nationwide partnership for digital and land-based sports betting and online gaming in the United States.
The partnership combines the leading sports betting company in the US, William Hill, with the extensive market access of Eldorado – a major casino group with 21 properties across 11 states and a customer base of 23 million people. Eldorado’s pending acquisition of Tropicana Entertainment Inc. will further extend its reach to 26 properties in 13 states on completion which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Under the terms of the agreement William Hill becomes Eldorado’s exclusive partner in the provision of digital and land-based sports betting services as well as online gaming. As a result, William Hill’s reach now extends to 13 states where sports betting is either legal or sports betting bills are tabled.
Within weeks the partners will open William Hill sportsbooks in five properties across three states – The Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey; The Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in West Virginia, and three casinos in Mississippi – The Lady Luck Casino in Vicksburg, Isle of Capri in Lula and Tropicana Casino in Greenville. Sportsbooks in additional casinos/states as well as digital betting and gaming services will be launched in the months ahead subject to the legislation in each state.
William Hill PLC and Eldorado, who have partnered since 2012 in Nevada, are strongly aligned to grow William Hill US, with the company currently involved in discussions with a number of potential partners.
Commenting on the agreement Philip Bowcock, William Hill PLC Chief Executive Officer, said: “Partnering with Eldorado gives William Hill access to one of the largest and most attractive casino footprints with 23 million customers across multiple states. This partnership provides extensive cross sell and profit growth opportunities to both parties. Together we are positioned to capture the evolving US opportunity – starting with land-based sports betting, and extending to digital sports betting and, in some states, online gaming.”
Gary Carano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Eldorado Inc., commented: “Having worked with the company since 2012, we believe William Hill represents the gold standard in global sports betting and we are confident that our expanded partnership will be successful. We look forward to bringing the excitement of sports betting to customers across our growing platform of leading casino resorts, creating value for all shareholders.”
Key features of the partnership
- William Hill becomes Eldorado’s exclusive partner for digital and retail sports betting. The agreement also covers the provision of online casino.
- The partnership extends the reach of William Hill US and covers Eldorado’s 26 properties across 131 states, plus any new properties it may acquire or develop.
- William Hill US retains 80% of the enhanced business, retaining strategic flexibility with both incentivised to grow digital and land-based sports betting in the US.
- Eldorado receives $50m of stock in William Hill PLC (equivalent to circa 1.6% of its market capitalisation), subject to a 3-5 year lock up; a 20% stake in William Hill US and a share of profits attributable to its licenses, closely aligning the two partners’ interests.
- Investment in sportsbooks in five existing casino properties set to begin imminently with capital expenditure jointly split between the partners.
- The agreement is for an initial 25-year term.
The partnership follows the Supreme Court decision in May that declared the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional. Since then William Hill, which currently operates 108 race and sports books in Nevada and the state’s leading mobile sports betting app has achieved the widest footprint of any sports betting operator in the US. It is now:
- Operating in New Jersey at Monmouth Park Racetrack, where it took the first legal bet in that state in June 2018, and at the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City;
- The exclusive risk manager for the sports lottery in Delaware;
- The sportsbook partner in 13 casinos in Mississippi where it expects to be the market leading operator;
- The exclusive partner to IGT in Rhode Island where it supplies sports betting technology and services to the state lottery;
- Taking bets in West Virginia where the first bets were taken on August 30
- Set to open a sportsbook in Pennsylvania in the coming weeks.
Agreement terms
The commencement of operations under this agreement are subject to relevant anti-trust and gaming regulatory approvals. Completion is expected following the necessary approvals. The transaction constitutes a class 2 transaction for the purposes of the UK Listing Rules. For the purposes of the LR 10.4.1 R (Notification of class 2 transactions), the value of the gross assets of William Hill US is $68.5 million and William Hill US generated adjusted operating profits of $28.5m in 2017. William Hill PLC has a market capitalisation of £2.1 billion.
As part of the agreement Eldorado will receive initial consideration of $50m in William Hill PLC shares which are subject to an initial 3-5 year lock-up period, as well as a 20% shareholding in William Hill US. This business includes William Hill’s operations in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Mississippi, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Iowa as well as its operations in the Bahamas and St Kitts, and all future Eldorado and non-Eldorado US business. Eldorado also has the right to convert its William Hill US shareholding into William Hill PLC shares at market value on the occurrence of certain vesting triggers or during an agreed future exercise window after five years. William Hill has the right to settle the conversion amount due to Eldorado in cash or shares at William Hill’s discretion.
As noted above, under the terms of the transaction, William Hill PLC will issue 13,376,135 new Ordinary Shares of 10p each to Eldorado, representing $50m (the Consideration Shares). The Consideration Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares of the Company. Applications will be made for the Consideration Shares to be admitted to the premium segment of the Official List and to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market for listed securities (Admission). Admission will occur at the completion of the transaction.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
OAM: Inside Information
William Hill LEI: 213800 MDW41W5UZQ1X82
Notes:
1 Following completion of Tropicana acquisition, expected in Q4 2018;
2 Subject to any existing contractual obligations in newly acquired properties.
Source: William Hill US
Source: European Gaming Media Latest News
Latest News
What makes Turbo Games’ provably fair games so special?
A partnership between game developer Turbo Games and iGaming solution provider and aggregator Slotegrator began in November 2022 via the APIgrator game integration solution. Since then, the collaboration has been developing successfully — and now it’s time to analyze what made it successful.
Turbo Games has noticed how the new technologies spreading throughout the industry can work for the good of brand transparency and player loyalty: “We can already see how blockchain technology has made it possible to make betting checks more accessible to players. All you need is a blockchain-hash and a decoder service. We think we will continue to move in this direction. Many traditional online casinos do not offer the possibility to check the bet. Sooner or later we all have to come to this. Perhaps the development of artificial intelligence will help here, because we are already seeing its involvement in all spheres of human life.”
Turbo Games specializes in provably fair games. Provable fairness is a concept where players can verify their wins or losses using blockchain technology — the outcome of the game is dictated by a smart contract and is absolutely random, barring the possibility of any human involvement. Using cryptographic hashing algorithms, the gambling site and the player’s device both generate seeds (random strings of numbers). Players receive a key that allows them to check the results; if the results are the same as the game round they witnessed, it proves that there was no foul play.
According to statistics from Turbo Games, the audience for provably fair games is mostly between 18 and 25 years old. However, there are also players aged 35-40 who prefer traditional games but would like to try something new, and have turned their attention to provably fair games.
There are good odds that the technology of provably fair games will become more popular, if not even commonplace, because it gives players a feeling of transparency and proves that the business is trustworthy without the need to search through dozens of reviews. Whereas many innovations in iGaming simply add entertainment, provable fairness addresses security concerns and reassures players that they’re not being exploited, which is invaluable.
Provably fair games are beneficial for both players and online casinos. Vadim Potapenko, Head of Sales at Turbo Games, comments: “It often happens that the users are not satisfied with the result, because gambling is not only about big wins, but also possible losses. By allowing them to check the fairness of a bet, we make life easier for platforms and players. Of course, this allows us to communicate with partners and users that we work honestly and that’s why they should trust our games.”
Ayvar Gabidullin, Business Development Manager at Slotegrator, adds that “this type of game is now becoming more and more popular and has great potential for both players and game providers in the future. On the part of the player, the advantage is that the player can always be sure that his game is fair and he can independently check any of his bets. And for the game provider, this also simplifies the process of implementing casino games, since now it will not be necessary to obtain the appropriate certificates from independent laboratories before launching new games, they can immediately enter the market with these games and where anyone can check the result and make sure that that there is no cheating with players. Many game providers are starting to look towards this type of game. And as far as I see, many operators are starting to think about adding these games.”
What do players in 2023 need? The iGaming industry is all about reputation and trust. Players have a huge number of platforms to choose from, making them pickier and pickier. There’s an abundance of forums where players leave reviews, so if players view a brand as untrustworthy, there are plenty of places they can share their opinion. Provable fairness not only stops that from happening, it provides evidence to the contrary, giving players something else to talk about.
Slotegrator also recommends investing time and effort into localization and creating an effective and detailed marketing strategy — before trying provably fair technology players need to get to the platform, and there is no acquisition without marketing.
ABOUT SLOTEGRATOR
Since 2012, Slotegrator has been one of the iGaming industry’s leading software and business solution providers for online casino and sportsbook operators.
The company’s main focus is software development and support for online casino platforms, as well as the integration of game content and payment systems.
The company works with licensed game developers and offers a vast portfolio of casino content: slots, live casino games, poker, virtual sports, table games, lotteries, casual games, and data feeds for betting.
Slotegrator also provides consulting services in gambling license acquisition and business incorporation.
More information: https://slotegrator.pro/
ABOUT TURBO GAMES
Turbo Games — a provably fair games provider that belongs to Turbo Stars company — has an ambitious goal to establish widespread recognition throughout the iGaming world. Even though it is young, the company consists of professionals who have been working on the brand for over five years and are even planning to introduce a new brand for a wider audience soon.
Turbo Games also works in Europe, India, and South Africa, where the company sees the most potential and expects the same “hype” as in Brazil.
The portfolio of Turbo Games consists of 21 titles, including well-known games like Mines, Crash X, DoubleRoll, Hi-Lo, and Plinko. The studio releases a game every month. However, not all games are developed from scratch. Wicket Blast and Spin Strike, the last two releases, are based on cricket and the Indian Premier League. Crash X remains the most popular fast game in the Turbo Games portfolio, and the studio reports that crash games enjoy stable levels of popularity. Overall, the main focus of the brand is provably fair games.
More information: https://turbogames.io/
Baltics
Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.
Looking to take your career to the next level in the games industry? Then, Nordic Game Talents is the place to be! Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.
From Oct 27-29, the online and interactive event is dedicated to recruitment and career building in the creative & games industry within the Nordic region. The event empowers participants to be part of a bigger community and motivates them to explore new paths in achieving their career goals.
Hiring creative & games studios – Supercell, Funcom, Panzerdog, Tactile Games, Gamecan, Fingersoft, Dazzle Rocks, Redhill Games to name a few from the Nordic region will be participating in the event. These studios will share information on their latest projects, work culture and what it takes to be part of their team. The individual games associations from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Estonia will share insights through live sessions on the booming games industry in their respective countries. Career development topics pertinent to job seekers like – How to have a successful first interview, Creative Portfolio reviews will also be discussed.
Experienced game industry professionals and individuals beginning their careers from around the world are welcome to join the event. One-to-one interviews with the hiring studios can be scheduled through the event platform. A great opportunity to get to know the studios and network with game professionals from around the world.
Participating in the event
As a job seeker attending Nordic Game Talents, take a few minutes to fill out a simple registration form. After filling the registration form you will receive a link to the online event platform – PINE, to join the event on 27th October. Participants joining Nordic Game Talents will also receive a free-of-charge pass to the Nordic Game Conference.
To view the complete agenda, please click here and to learn more about the event please visit Games Job Fair
About Games Factory Talents
A Helsinki-based talent attraction agency dedicated to the games & creative industry. Our services include direct recruitment, organizing game job fairs and managing a community of game industry professionals through our GameDev Talent Board.
To learn more about Games Factory Talents visit – Games Factory Talents
810 THE SPREAD
Cumulus Media Launches 810 THE SPREAD, the Bay Area’s First Sports Station Focused on Sports Betting
Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announces that it has launched the Bay Area’s first Sports radio station focused on sports betting, 810 THE SPREAD. The new station brings sports and sports betting news, information, and insights to the burgeoning and underserved sports betting audience in San Francisco. 810 THE SPREAD will deliver behind-the-book perspectives from experts in a highly entertaining and engaging format. 810 THE SPREAD goes live today on the legendary 810am frequency that has been the 80-year home of historic Talk Radio KGO-AM. Cumulus San Francisco also launched the station’s new website at www.810thespread.com. Kevin Graham, Program Director of Cumulus’ sister sports stations KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT, adds Program Director duties for 810 THE SPREAD.
Larry Blumhagen, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco, said: “810 THE SPREAD joins our sports brands KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT for a trifecta of dynamic sports content across four signals and streaming everywhere. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to serving the Bay Area’s passionate sports fans in an incomparable way.”
Blumhagen added: “This is a bittersweet day for us, as it’s hard to say goodbye to the legendary KGO, which has been a part of listeners’ lives for so many years. We want to thank all the people who have been a part of KGO’s historic run these many years – and the listeners who loyally tuned in to the station. Times change, and we must change with them.”
Kevin Graham, Program Director, 810 THE SPREAD, said: “810 THE SPREAD will be the Bay Area’s best bet for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts, and we are pleased to introduce sports-betting radio to our community. The station will feature a lineup of expert personalities that deliver unique sports talk and sports betting insights that entertain, inform, and engage, along with Cal Football and Basketball as well as select professional and college sports play-by-play events. While 810 THE SPREAD will feature specific gambling information, we believe our entertaining presentation will make it a favorite for all Bay area sports fans and a perfect complement to the legendary KNBR and KTCT. With its addition, it truly shows Cumulus’ commitment to the Bay area as ‘The Sports Leader’!”
The weekday programming lineup for 810 THE SPREAD includes:
6am-9am – Bet QL Daily – The must-consume show for sports fans and betting fans alike. Hosted by Joe Ostrowski, Joe Giglio, and Erin Hawksworth.
9am-12pm – Jim Rome - Aggressive, informed sports opinions, rapid-fire dialogue, and plenty of sports smack. As one of the most prolific sports talk hosts in America, Rome draws massive tune-in with legions of fans known as clones, who live for Rome’s take on the day’s largest issues in sports.
12pm-4pm – You Better You Bet – Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley have you covered for the best bets on the biggest matchups, the latest line movement and updates in the futures market. We’ll have up-to-the-minute coverage of backdoor covers and bad beats, and the cheers and tears that come with them. It’s sports betting conversation like you’ve never heard before.
4pm-8pm – Bet MGM Tonight – Live sports betting updates for all the night’s games as they happen – plus live “look-ins” for Major League Baseball games in progress. Get the latest scores, sides, totals, props, parlays, futures, and much more with hosts Quinton Mayo, Trysta Krick, and Ryan Horvat.
8pm-12 Midnight – CBS Sports Radio
BetQL Network programming is provided by Cumulus Media’s Westwood One through a partnership with Audacy.
For more information or to stream 810 THE SPREAD, visit: http://www.810thespread.com.
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