Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 3-9

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! It was again an eventful week in the USA, despite the still-active virus attack.

Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news, new acquisitions and compliance updates. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Playtech has partnered with Parx Interactive and Gun Lake Casino to launch Play Gun Lake, a new iGaming app for Michigan. The iGaming app will be powered by Playtech’s IMS platform and Player Account Management (PAM) and will feature Playtech proprietary iGaming content.

Wynn Resorts has announced that its two Las Vegas Strip casinos – Wynn and Encore – will return to full capacity, effective immediately. The group said it received the green light to operate at 100% from the Nevada Gaming Control Board after reporting that 88% of its employees had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

BetMGM has announced the launch of BetMGM Poker and Borgata Poker in Pennsylvania, giving customers access to benefits tied to Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City as well as other MGM Resorts’ casino-resorts nationwide. Pennsylvania is the third state to introduce BetMGM Poker and the second to introduce Borgata Poker, both powered by partypoker US Network.

The Washington State Gambling Commission has reached a tentative agreement with the Suquamish Tribe to amend its Class III gaming compact to add sports wagering. The Tribe operates its III gaming facility located on the Kitsap Peninsula on the Port Madison Indian Reservation. This is the second sports wagering tentative agreement in the state and this amendment establishes the framework for sports wagering at the Tribe’s Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort.

Penn National Gaming has launched Penn Game Studios, an in-house content development team focused on creating exclusive iCasino content for its customers. To fuel this effort, the Company is acquiring HitPoint Studios and its spun-off real money gaming company LuckyPoint. The acquisition is expected to close in the near term, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

PointsBet Holdings has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary PointsBet Michigan has been authorised by the Michigan Gaming Control Board to commence iGaming operations and has launched its proprietary iGaming platform in that state. The launch of PointsBet’s iGaming operations follows the launch of Sports Wagering in Michigan on 22 January 2021. PointsBet plans to launch iGaming in New Jersey in June.

Financial Report

Caesars Entertainment has reported the operating results for the first quarter of 2021. Net revenue is $1.7 billion, an increase of 259.2% on a GAAP basis and a decrease of 16.0% on a same-store basis versus the comparable prior-year period.

New Acquisition

Catena Media has acquired Lineups.com, an online sports affiliation company. The total purchase price amounts to USD 39.6 million, payable in cash in three installments during a two-year period. An additional contingent cash payment of USD 0.5 million is payable if certain requirements are fulfilled within three years of the transaction date.

Compliance Update

Free Bets US is now licensed in New Jersey to market online sportsbooks and casinos with New Jersey Vendor ID 0092299. Being licensed in New Jersey as a vendor allows Free Bets US to generate commissions from online sportsbooks such as BetMGM and Borgata by promoting Free Bets in NJ.