Scientific Games, the gambling and lottery solutions provider, has extended its existing partnership with Nederlandse Loterij to supply a full digital sports betting solution to the Dutch Lottery and its customers.

The extended partnership will see Scientific Games launch its OpenSports end-to-end sports wagering solution with the Netherlands’ state-run lottery operator. OpenSports will provide sports betting products to Dutch bettors across both desktop and mobile, it also became known from a press release published earlier today.

Nederlandse Loterij was established in 2016 when De Lotto and the Dutch State Lottery merged into a single entity. Proceeds generated by the operator, one of the few authorized to provide gambling services on the territory of the Netherlands, are contributed to sports and local charitable causes.

At present Scientific Games provides its Dutch lottery partner with its OpenPlatform player account technology as well as with lottery instant games.

The expanded partnership between the gambling provider and the lottery operator would see the former provide its sports betting solution to the latter. Building on the foundation of that expanded relationship, Nederlandse Loterij will later on be able to harness Scientific Games’ OpenTrade managed trading solution for non-Dutch sports.

The OpenSports Solution

Scientific Games’ OpenSports solution offers customers a robust sports betting engine via the company’s OpenBet operation, which it acquired in early 2018, the OpenPlatform player account technology, the OpenTrade risk and trading product, OpenEngage turnkey turnkey-front end product, and OpenAccelerate marketing product.

Aside from the Netherlands, Scientific Games serves more than 30 lotteries with its sports betting solutions across Europe, the United States and Canada, and Asia. Most recently, Scientific Games was selected as the preferred sports betting provider of Turkey’s regulated wagering market, known to be among the biggest in the world.

Commenting on the addition of a Scientific Games-powered sports betting product, Sam Deporteere, Business Director Sportsbook at Nederlandse Loterij, said that they “are excited to offer our players a seamlessly connected online sportsbook that keeps quality and stability top-of-mind” and that their expanded partnership with Scientific Games will help them “gain new players and keep our existing bettors engaged.”

Scientific Games SVP Sportsbook and Platforms Keith O’Loughlin added that their OpenSports solution is “a natural fit for Nederlandse Loterij” and that the product has been re-engineered “by putting the player at the heart of our decision making.”

The executive added that “sports betting is currently positioned at the core of global growth for the lottery and gaming industry, and we’ll be providing NLO advanced innovation to fuel their ongoing success in the Netherlands.”

Scientific Games’ products and solutions currently service 150 lotteries in 50 countries around the world.

The Dutch State Lottery is looking to boost its sports betting offering as the Netherlands is gearing up preparations to reorganize its online gambling market and open it to international operators, which means more competition for the nation’s state run gambling and lottery business.

Source: Scientific Games and Nederlandse Loterij Expand Partnership with Complete Digital Sports Betting Solution, PRNewswire.com

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The recently announced sale of Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas has cleared its first major hurdle to inch closer to its planned late 2019 finalization.

Casino news outlet CDC Gaming Reports reported earlier this week that the Federal Trade Commission signed off the property’s sale to a New York-based real estate group this past Friday.

After years of speculations that Caesars Entertainment Corp. was seeking buyers for its off-Strip property, the major gaming and hospitality operator eventually announced last month that it has entered into an agreement to offload it to a company controlled by a principal of Imperial Companies of New York City in a $516.3 million deal.

The hotel and casino resort’s new owner will lease it back to Caesars for at least two years. Under their lease agreement, Caesars will pay $45 million in annual rent. The landlord has an option for a one-time lease contract extension of up to a year. However, if the landlord wants to exercise the option, it will need to notify Caesars before the end “of the first year of the initial term.”

As reported by CDC Gaming Reports, the Federal Trade Commission cleared the sale of the resort this past Friday. A spokeswoman for Caesars said in an emailed statement that the FTC “has determined there are no anti-trust issues with the Rio sale.”

While the FTC clearance is an important step toward the finalization of the deal, it also needs shareholder and regulatory approval from Nevada casino regulators.

What Happens to WSOP?

Launched in 1990, the Rio features more than 2,500 hotel rooms and a number of other resort amenities amenities. However, since 2004 it has been most popular for hosting the annual World Series of Poker – the world’s longest running and largest live tournament poker series.

Even when the potential sale of the Rio was just a rumor (and a very persistent one, swirling around for almost a decade), the most important question prompted by that potential sale was where the WSOP would go.

WSOP Vice President of Corporate Communications Seth Palansky provided an answer to that question days before Caesars announced that it was selling the Rio. In a tweet, the WSOP official said that he “can 100% confirm [the WSOP] will take place at the Rio in Las Vegas in 2020.”

In an interview with CardPlayer, Mr. Palansky elaborated that the WSOP is an event of a scale that requires them to book Rio’s convention space years out and that contracts were in place for the major poker event to take place at the resort in 2020 and probably in 2021.

Many have suggested that the WSOP could move to Caesars’ $375 million ultra-spacious Caesars Forum convention center when it opens doors next year. However, it seems that the poker series will for now stay where it has been for the past 15 years.

While gearing up preparations to sell the Rio, Caesars is also in the middle of a $17.3 billion merger with rival casino operator Eldorado Resorts. The deal is expected to close sometime in 2020 and will create the largest US casino operation with around 60 properties in 19 states.

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The race for the development of an integrated resort in the Japanese city of Osaka has reportedly narrowed to just three potential bidders – MGM Resorts International, Galaxy Entertainment Group, and Genting Singapore, a subsidiary of Malaysian operator Genting Group.

According to reports from Japanese media outlets, the above-mentioned three companies have submitted a request for concept proposal for the development of a resort with dedicated casino space.

Japan legalized casino gambling in 2016 and authorized the construction of up to three integrated resorts with gaming floors to create a market some analysts believe could annually see $20 billion in gaming revenue.

Osaka has long been considered the front-runner in the casino race due to the large number of international visitors the city welcomes every year as well as the strong local political support the potential development of a gaming resort has seen.

Analysts also believe that Yokohama, Nagasaki, Wakayama, and event Japan’s capital Tokyo could be selected as hosts to the country’s first three integrated resorts. Yokohama recently joined officially the casino race, with the city’s Mayor, Fumiko Hayashi, saying that they need an integrated resort in order to “achieve growth and development.”

Up until recently, Osaka was favored by a number of major international developers in their plans to build a resort and tap into Japan’s nascent casino market. However, that changed quickly with Yokohama’s announcement that it would look to host one of the three gaming complexes. Yokohama is Japan’s second largest city, a major port that sits just south of Tokyo.

Major Casino Developers Drop Osaka Bids

Over the years, a number of major gaming and hospitality operators have shown strong interest in bringing integrated resort experience to Osaka. However, with Yokohama joining the race, some of them abandoned their Osaka plans and focused their attention to the other city.

Las Vegas Sands, the gaming and hospitality powerhouse led by mogul Sheldon Adelson, was the first to announce its withdrawal from the Osaka casino race. The company said last month that it would no longer pursue development opportunities in the city and that it would instead focus its efforts on obtaining permits to develop and integrated resort in Yokohama. Las Vegas Sands already boasts strong Asian presence with properties in Macau and Singapore.

Just days ago, Melco Resorts & Entertainment announced a “Yokohama First” strategy, saying that the city has “convenient location, communication links, vibrancy, and pioneering spirit” and is “an ideal candidate for a large-scale development designed specifically for premium international tourists.”

Melco, too, has decided to drop its Osaka bid and to focus its undivided attention on winning the Yokohama race.

Caesars Entertainment Corp., which too was previously interested in Osaka, recently dropped its plans to pursue a gaming license in Japan, citing its merger with Reno, Nevada-based gaming and hospitality company Eldorado Resorts as the main reason for its decision.

Wynn Resorts was another major company previously believed to be interested in the Osaka opportunity. Earlier this month, Chris Gordon, President of Wynn Resorts Development Japan, said that they plan to build the world’s largest casino property in Osaka, and that if the company wins a gaming license, its property would spread across between two and three million square feet. However, the company was not cited as a potential Osaka casino bidder by local media in recent reports.

Last month, MGM Resorts International issued a statement to reaffirm its commitment to Osaka as their preferred host to a gaming resort. The company’s CEO, Jim Murren, said in a statement that they plan to “bring world class entertainment, exciting cultural events, convention expertise, and premium dining and retail experiences that will have broad appeal both nationally and internationally.”

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Florida-based gaming and hospitality company Hard Rock International has expanded its sports betting operation beyond New Jersey with Friday’s launch of over-the-counter betting at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City in Iowa.

Hard Rock’s new sportsbook at its Sioux City property is powered by European gaming and sports betting technology provider Gaming Innovation Group (GiG). The two companies teamed up last year to launch together a physical and digital sportsbook at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.

The partnership between Hard Rock and GiG came with the option to be extended across multiple other states where sports betting is legal.

Iowa legalized athletic gambling earlier this year. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission authorized in August the state’s 19 casinos to offer retail, online, and mobile sports betting to customers aged 21 or over and located within the state’s borders.

Hard Rock Sioux City joined the state’s sports betting scene just over a month after the first legal bet was accepted on the territory of the state. According to official numbers posted by the state gambling regulator last week, Iowa’s sportsbooks handled $8,576,246 in bets during the first 17 days of regulated sports betting in the state through August 31, and generated $2,161,688 in revenue.

Over-the-counter Betting Now Live at Hard Rock Sioux City, Mobile Betting Coming in Q4

Hard Rock debuted its Sioux City retail sportsbook at 3 pm local time on Friday. The operator has designated more than 400 square feet of space for the betting facility and it features four betting windows for customers. Hard Rock and GiG revealed that they plan to launch online and mobile betting at some point in the fourth quarter of the year.

GiG said that the launch of sports betting in Iowa with Hard Rock enables the company to leverage its platform across the US and add more scale to its network. The gambling technology provider expects limited impact on its revenue in 2019 from its entry into Iowa’s sports betting market and that the contribution will increase from the launch of online and mobile betting in 2020 onwards.

Of their recent expansion into another US state, GiG Chief Executive Officer Richard Brown said that they are delighted to deepen their relationship with Hard Rock and that this agreement is “both a testament to our know-how and prowess to lead a land-based casino into the digital world of betting, and a strong validation of GiG’s commercial and product delivery capabilities.”

Hard Rock Sioux City General Manager Jim Franke added that their new GiG-powered sportsbook provides their players and guests with a new level of engagement and that they “couldn’t be more thrilled to be launching in Iowa.”

Iowa has population of approximately 3.2 million inhabitants. The state’s sports betting market is also expected to benefit with visitors from neighboring Nebraska and Minnesota where the practice is not legal.

According to early projections, Iowa’s sportsbooks can produce revenue of around $160 million at market’s maturity.

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Malta-based online casino content developer Betsoft Gaming is looking to strengthen its foothold in the Asian online gambling market with a new range of Asia-themed slots, the company revealed in a press release from early today.

The company’s Asian expansion plan involves the roll-out of one slot from the range every month for the rest of the year, it also became known.

With the launch of its new Red Dragon collection of games, Betsoft aims to enhance the presence and diversity of its content across the rapidly growing Asian marketplace. Each of the planned releases will display the developer’s cinematic style, fresh themes, and fast-paced action which is exactly what players from the region are looking for when approaching one gaming title or another.

Bamboo Rush will be the first title from the range to go live. The game is slated to be released this month. It invites players on a hunt for a Golden Panda scatter that triggers its spins feature. Players can win up to 20 free spins with the chance to uncover even more.

The game’s symbols are stacked both during the base game and the free spins, with the scatter being the only exception. It can multiply a player’s winnings to up to 53,000 times in a single spin.

Other Releases

The launch of Bamboo Rush will be followed by the release of two more titles as part of the new range, with those being Caishen’s Arrival and Dragon & Phoenix. Betsoft said that both titles feature revolutionary themes and plenty of fun to “keep every type of player engaged and entertained.”

Commenting on today’s news, Betsoft Marketing Director Annamaria Anastasi said that their Red Dragon series is “one of the highlights of our 2019 content calendar with three slots that will take players’ breath away from the very first spin.”

Ms. Anastasi added that “packed with mind blowing features” its trio of Asia-themed games will bring to a close one of the supplier’s most successful years and will continue that strong momentum into 2020.

Betsoft was founded in 2006. The company is based in Malta and licensed by the local Gaming Authority. Its portfolio of games includes more than 190 RNG titles that are available across more than 15 regulated markets. Betsoft’s clients include over 200 of the world’s major online casino operators that provide their services across a number of jurisdictions.

Earlier this year, Betsoft scooped the Best Online Gambling Developer award at the Corporate Vision Media Innovator Awards presented by the Corporate Vision Magazine. The company was honored for Max Quest: Wrath of Ra, an action-packed RNG game that replaces reels and symbols featured in traditional slots with a multi-player shoot’em up experience to converge “social and video gaming with online casino.”

Betsoft also notched the Best B2B Digital Product Solution Award at the annual G2E Asia Awards this past May. The developer and supplier of online casino content was recognized for its expanding game portfolio, product development, and client support.

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