Casino operator Wynn Resorts has signed a sports betting partnership with motorsports organization NASCAR to boost the profile of its new WynnBET digital gaming division.
On Friday, Wynn and NASCAR announced a ‘national multi-year’ deal under which WynnBET will become the latest Authorized Gaming Operator of the body overseeing most North American stock car race events. NASCAR’s chief digital officer Tim Clark said he was “excited to partner with such a deeply experienced and innovative team.”
As far as land-based casino gambling is concerned, okay, but Wynn seriously lags its US rivals in terms of digital sports betting, casino and poker experience. That wasn’t always the case, as Wynn launched an ‘interactive’ division that applied for a New Jersey online gambling license in 2014 only to withdraw the application the following year without explanation.
In 2018, following the demise of the US federal sports betting ban, Wynn inked a betting partnership with UK-licensed BetBull, then struck another betting/iGaming deal with Scientific Games Corp in 2019.
Wynn finally launched an online betting/casino app in New Jersey this August – under the Wynn Sports brand – by piggybacking on rival Caesars Entertainment’s local license. This month, Wynn struck a deal with regional casino operator Full House Resorts for betting market access to Colorado and Indiana. Wynn also has ambitions to launch in Michigan through a local tribal casino partner.
WynnBET’s current plan to launch “a nationally scaled sports betting business” that will start in Virginia, which opened its online betting license derby this month. WynnBET will apply for a Virginia license and its NASCAR deal will see it become the Official Online Sportsbook of the state’s Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway, with betting lounges to be built at each property.
Meanwhile, Wynn may wish to unleash their intellectual property lawyers on the Wynn Bet Group, a Vegas-based soccer betting pick-selling business that is among the top results Google returns when you search for ‘wynn bet’. This will likely cause no end of confusion when WynnBET formally launches, particularly given the touts’ liberal use of Wynn logos across their online presence (and pics of disgraced founder Steve Wynn).
