Last Friday, British bookmaker, William Hill PLC., in a press release announced that it will be providing sports betting risk management services as well as mobile betting tech to at least 11 casinos in Mississippi including Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, Hard Rock Casino Hotel & Casino Biloxi, WaterView Casino in Vicksburg, Palace Casino (Biloxi), and Treasure Bay Casino (Biloxi).
“It has been an excellent start for us since PASPA was overturned. We have built on our existing business in Nevada, which is growing, and in Delaware, where we are risk manager for the entire state. We expect to be the market leader in Mississippi with these 11 casino agreements,” William Hill CEO Phillip Bowcock said in a statement.
In addition to this, the British bookmaker also inked a deal with a West Virginia-based casino partner that is yet to be announced – like in the case with Mississippi, William Hill will be providing retail, online and mobile sports betting technology to the casino.
“We have had a great start in New Jersey and our team is working hard to launch our mobile product there, as well as getting ready to go live in Mississippi, West Virginia, and elsewhere,” William Hill US CEO Joe Asher said in a statement.
Penn National Could Be Involved
There has been a lot of speculation pertaining to William Hill’s U.S. expansion plans since PASPA was overturned and a number of them have focused on its potential partnership with Penn National Gaming. Even though neither side has confirmed the accuracy of these speculations, a recent report by City A.M. has cited sources close to both companies saying that Penn National Gaming is indeed the partner that William Hill will sign a deal with as it proceeds with its expansion plans in the United States. The only setback is that this might take a while because the talks are still at an early stage.
William Hill is hell-bent on nabbing a significant share on the domestic front following failed attempts at completing large-scale mergers or acquisitions like most of its competitors. At the same time, the bookmaker has had to deal with the fallout from the United Kingdom government move to slash the maximum odds of fixed-odds betting terminals. If the rumored partnership with Penn National is fruitful, then William Hill will have hit the jackpot in the United States where it already enjoys dominance in states like New Jersey and Nevada as far as sports betting is concerned.
Penn National is also reportedly preparing to launch sports betting imminently in three states, within which Will Hill has partnered with some operators. This could help in hastening the process of the rumored partnership.
“We are actively working in Mississippi, West Virginia and in Pennsylvania to hopefully get up by football season our sports betting operations there,” said Penn National Gaming CEO Tim Wilmott. “I have a high degree of confidence that in West Virginia and Mississippi, we’ll be ready for football season, and possibly in Pennsylvania as well.”
