Caesars Entertainment and Scientific Games Extend Commitment

The beginning of summer and the impending return of professional sports in North America has brought about a surge in partnership deals with teams, leagues, betting providers and tech firms all looking to set themselves up for when the sporting world returns to "normal". Two industry Heavyweights, gambling software provider Scientific Games and Las Vegas casino operator Caesars Entertainment have been partners for a while and earlier this week re-upped in their commitment to mutually benefit each other during this time of growth in the US legal sports betting market.

The sports betting and online casino partnership between the two major US companies has been extended with the idea of completing their successful move into two giant sports betting states and with an eye on growing the brands into new US jurisdictions. The 2020-2021 sports betting season is about to hit the ground running with new markets looking to find their way and with the NBA, NHL, and MLB ready to roll on continuations and commencements of their respective seasons.

“We are pleased to extend our collaboration with Scientific Games and thrilled to see our players experience the benefits of our continued partnership. Scientific Games’ technology is not only highly scalable but most importantly it provides our players with feature-rich content fully integrated with Caesars Rewards” said Christian Stuart, Caesars Entertainment executive vice president of gaming and interactive entertainment.

Jordan Levin, Group CEO Digital for Scientific Games said: “We’re delighted with our partnership with Caesars Entertainment. We’re working side by side, supporting their excellent teams and playing an important role in delivering digital casino and sports betting products to their players across multiple states.”

History of the partnership

The partnership between Caesars and Scientific Games is already two years old. It was the summer of 2018, shortly after the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting that the two companies came together, and quite successfully.

The two companies started their relationship with launches in Mississippi and New Jersey where Caesars already had a presence. The partnership recently saw them move to other markets including Pennsylvania and Indiana which are widely considered two of the top 5 bet-friendly states in the US. With New Jersey in the mix, Caesars and Scientific Games are a factor in three of the top five states in terms of legal sports betting success in the country.

Success of the partnership going forward is reliant on Scientific Games' OpenSports and OpenGaming product suites which are among the most powerful and successful of their kind in the global legal betting landscape. This technology is meant to deliver a unique, dependable and exciting betting experience to all of its customers around the world and is one of the few that offers “rewards” for just playing their digital platform.

Pennsylvania and Indiana

Pennsylvania and Indiana are the most immediate concerns for the companies. Caesars’ January 2019 launch of The Book at Harrah’s Philadelphia has been followed up recently by the launch of an online platform that employs Scientific Games’ OpenSports and OpenGaming product suites to maximize bettors' overall experience. Indiana's digital sports offering that also uses OpenSports and OpenGaming product suites went live mid-May.

Pennsylvania and Indiana will continue to be areas of focus for the two companies going forward and based on the numbers that have come out of those states, the companies seem to have their priorities straight. Caesars and Scientific Games will also keep an eye on further expansion as new markets open up across the US.

Going forward

With more states considering their own online casino gaming and sports betting platforms, the arrow on the partnership between Caesars and Scientific Games is pointing way up despite the tough times the companies have had navigating COVID-19.

As we climb back out of the coronavirus hole and states’ budgetary bills are added up from the coronavirus crisis, new revenue streams will have to be considered in previously uncharted betting jurisdictions. Enter the legal sports betting industry and the tax revenue it generates.

It all adds up to a lucrative time for Caesars and Scientific Games whose years of experience and established partnership have not gone unnoticed in legal sports betting circles.