Hills-GVC bid speculation delays Foxwoods-Sportingbet JV
Connecticut casino and London operator were due to announce deal at G2E in Las Vegas in two weeks " delayed until Hills/GVC intentions made clearer.
A technology partnership agreement between Foxwoods Resort Casino and Sportingbet was due to be announced at G2E in Las Vegas in 10 days but has been further delayed due to the interest in the operator from William Hill and GVC Holdings, eGaming Review has learned.
Sportingbet and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe-owned Foxwoods were on the verge of announcing their widely-anticipated joint venture, a year on from initiating initial talks, however eGR understands that Wednesday’s statement from William Hill and GVC has since put off the Native American tribe from giving the green light until it discovers the intentions of the proposed joint bidders.
Both William Hill and GVC have until 16 October to make a formal bid for Sportingbet with Hills vying for its regulated markets including its highly profitable Australian arm as well as its dot.country operations in Spain and Denmark, while GVC would look to take over its grey market territories including South America.
The exclusive partnership would see Foxwoods integrate Sportingbet’s open B2B gaming platform enabling it to source third party content from the likes of IGT, Bally, GameAccount and WMS. Foxwoods would then be responsible for marketing and licensing the platform to other operators in the US, with a focus on Native American tribes as well as commercial casinos.
As eGR reported in October last year, the JV would initially see the launch of a free-play poker and casino games ahead of exploring options for real-money gaming when and where it is legal to do so. It is thought that Sportingbet fought off competition from GTECH G2 and Betsson to begin exclusive talks last September.
Foxwoods is the world’s largest resort casino, measured in terms of gaming space and slot machines, while its 7,200 slot machines is the largest number operated by a single casino in the world. Its WPT World Poker Room is also the largest in the US outside California, with 114 tables.
Online operator Sportingbet settled with the Department of Justice in September last year for activities prior to its US exit post-UIGEA in October 2006. It agreed to pay US$33m (£21m) to US authorities as settlement for activities prior to passage of the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in October 2006. The third and final settlement fee of $6m was paid on 31 March this year.