Bookmaker William Hill and gaming solutions provider International Game Technology (IGT) have inked a partnership to sell US state lotteries on the joys of legal sports betting.
On Tuesday, Hills’ US division and IGT subsidiary IGT Global Solutions Corporation announced the signing of a “multi-year agreement” to make a combined push “to offer US lotteries a full-service solution for sports betting.”
The two companies are already working together in Rhode Island, readying the betting technology underpinnings of the Rhode Island Lottery’s sportsbooks at the Twin River Casino and Tiverton Casino, which are scheduled to launch sometime in November.
The new partnership will see IGT supply its PlayShot sports betting platform for land-based, retail, online and mobile wagering, while William Hill US will supply the operational, trading, player management and strategic expertise it has gleaned from years of running sports betting operations on behalf of Nevada casino operators.
The at-times frenzied rollout of legal sports betting across the US following this spring’s Supreme Court ruling striking down the federal betting prohibition has left companies scrambling to form alliances and secure contracts, the numbers and types of which vary wildly from state to state.
Clearly, Hills and IGT expect at least some states – particularly those without a significant land-based casino presence – to follow Rhode Island’s lead and reserve sports betting for their state-run lottery operations, which in many cases already have longstanding relationships with IGT.
Renato Ascoli, CEO of IGT, North America, hailed the new “unique” partnership, saying it would allow state lotteries “to enter this new activity with total confidence and trust in the service being offered.”
William Hill US CEO Joe Asher was equally effusive, saying lotteries that choose to make use of the new partnership will benefit from a “reliable, trustworthy and responsibly-managed solution.”
