Casino giant Caesars Entertainment Inc. is reportedly eyeing a US betting market access partnership with a major European online gambling operator as it gears up preparations to close the £2.9 billion acquisition of William Hill.
According to gambling consultancy firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, there have been rumblings that Betway may be “waiting in the wings” to team up with Caesars and explore the fast-growing sports gambling space across the pond.
Reports about the potential Caesars-Betway link-up emerge shortly after the former company announced a wagering partnership with Spain’s Carousel Group and the latter signed an exclusive agreement with online casino content maker Digital Gaming Corporation (DGC).
Eilers & Krejcik said in its latest bi-weekly EKG Line report that Caesars’ recently announced deals and rumored alliance with Betway suggest that it is “not going to broadly hoard market access slots in a post-merger setting with William Hill” and that it “may look to plow some of its market access proceeds into William Hill’s post-merger US marketing budget.” Rival casino operator Penn National has adopted a similar approach with the Barstool brand, which obtained a stake in in 2020.
Caesars, the largest US casino company by number of properties, last fall made an offer for the US business of British bookmaker William Hill as part of its effort to cement itself in the lucrative US wagering market. The deal is expected to close late in the first quarter or early in the second.
A Stream of Partnerships
Betway would be the latest of a series of wagering partners the casino powerhouse has secured in recent weeks.
Late last month, the company announced a ten-year, multi-state deal with Carousel’s SportsBetting.com business. The brand promptly became available in New Jersey, Indiana, and Iowa where the Harrah’s and Horseshoe owner operates multiple properties.
As part of this recent agreement, SportsBetting will also offer online casino product in New Jersey, subject to regulatory approval.
Carousel, a privately held Spanish gambling company, said that this partnership would increase its addressable market in the States to an estimated $1.8 billion from approximately $109 million. Its flagship brand is also available in Colorado where it operates through an alliance with Johnny Nolon’s Casino in Cripple Creek.
In January, Caesars also acquired a minority stake in New Hampshire-based daily fantasy sports platform SuperDraft with an option to increase that to up to 100% over time. The casino operator said the deal would help it further strengthen its “pipeline to customer acquisition and retention for both online and brick-and-mortar” by complementing its digital product.
Betway itself has been busy securing partners en route to the US. As mentioned above, the company penned a brand licensing agreement with DGC that will see it offer sports betting and, where possible, online casino services in 10 US states.
Under the Betway brand, DGC will deliver pre-match and in-play wagering across all major US and European sports leagues as well as iGaming options. The 10 states where the products will be available are yet to be revealed.
Source: “Caesars Rumored to Be in Talks for Another Sports Betting Market Access Deal with Betway”, Casino.org, February 28, 2021