German-Based Tipico Heading to Iowa and Indiana
The US legal sports betting industry gold rush continues with news that German-based sportsbook Tipico is moving into two major US jurisdictions. Thanks to a 10-year partnership with Caesars Entertainment that can be extended another 10 years, Tipico has gained market access into Indiana and Iowa with launches of their mobile brand in the next six or so months.
Tipico is not new to the global legal betting scene. They have been around for decades and have emerged as one of, if not the top options operating in the German market. Like other global sportsbooks, moving into the exploding US scene is a logical step and behemoth Caesars Entertainment has stepped up to help with Tipico's expansion efforts.
“We are excited to announce Tipico’s multi-state market access partnership with Caesars Entertainment, which marks an important step as we continue to expand our US footprint,” Adrian Vella, chief executive of Tipico US, said. “We look forward to establishing our brand presence in the Midwest, and introducing our highly scalable, proprietary multi-state sports betting experience to players in Indiana and Iowa.”
“Captivating users and elevating their betting experience is at the core of Tipico’s development and growth plan, and we’re proud of the capabilities that our app and our proprietary technology stack offers,” Vella said.
Beneficial Alignment
Tipico's alignment with Caesars Entertainment is shrewd and it is prudent. Caesars has been seemingly making all the right moves navigating the entirety of the US legal sports betting industry of late and should provide Tipico with not only a place to land their sportsbook, but also some much-needed clout within the US scene.
Tipico's sportsbook will launch in Indiana thanks to a Caesars licensing deal with Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino. In Iowa, Tipico is prepping to go live through another Caesars property, Casino Hotel Bettendorf.
“This new market access agreement with Caesars Entertainment is another exciting step forward for Tipico as we continue to connect with more US bettors,” Tipico vice president of business development and strategy Stephen Krombolz, added. “Indiana and Iowa are key states in our early expansion plans but there is certainly more to come, and we look forward to announcing additional partnerships later this year.”
Tipico's Growth Plans
Tipico has been a force in other countries around the world, particularly Germany. Their hope is to garner a big market share in the US market sooner rather than later. A presence in Colorado and New Jersey with Indiana and Iowa on the horizon is a good start as far as their sportsbook growth plans go.
But perhaps the German sportsbook provider's biggest coup so far was their ability to become the exclusive sports betting and iGaming provider of publisher Gannett, which has USA Today Network and its USA Today Sports Media Group as part of its portfolio.
Exposure is key for sportsbooks in existing and potential new US jurisdictions in the sports betting industry. USA Today certainly gives Tipico that.
A Bit of a Wait?
Tipico has targeted Q4 of 2021 to go live in Iowa and Q1 of 2022 to be live in Indiana, assuming all regulatory approvals are met. Bettors in those states will still have a bit of a wait before seeing sportsbooks in their jurisdictions.
When Tipico does go live, they will have some catching up to do in order to wrestle any market share away from the big providers already present. Their global experience should be able to at least mitigate some of the pain that is expected with that journey.
That said, Tipico did get its feet wet in Colorado with a launch Thursday, in time for the NFL season and does have a presence in New Jersey. So, they are active in the US market.
The next step looks like the launch of online casinos in the states Tipico already has a presence. When all is said and done, Tipico hopes to have an all-encompassing platform and hopes to be a big player in the broad US legal sports betting scene.
