Scientific Games Corporation and Betfred are partnering to provide both retail and online sports betting to Wind Creek Casino, according to a Wednesday press release.
Scientific Games will provide the platform, and Betfred will act as the bookmaker. But the timeline for launching sports wagering at Wind Creek remains unclear.
When will sports betting come to Wind Creek?
This much is known: Retail sports betting at Wind Creek is set for the first half of 2020, per the announcement. However, online sports wagering is vaguely projected to start “in advance of the 2020-2021 NFL season.”
Before any of that can happen, there is a crucial unresolved issue. Wind Creek has yet to file a sports betting application.
Per the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), while the casino hasn’t applied yet, Betfred has. Either way, Wind Creek can’t launch sports betting products until a license is procured by Wind Creek.
Wind Creek has said since May 2019 that they were working on adding sports betting. The issue came up last year as ownership transitioned from Sands Bethlehem to Wind Creek.
Why a Scientific Games and Betfred partnership?
Mark Stebbings, Group COO at Betfred, explained the alliance in a release:
“Scientific Games was the clear choice to provide our sports betting platform in Pennsylvania. OpenSports provides best-in-class, reliable technology and services that will help us reach more players and grow our sportsbook presence at speed.”
Stebbings praised Scientific Games’ OpenSports product suite, which includes online and mobile betting technology and services.
He added that the partnership would allow Betfred and Scientific, along with Don Best Sports data feeds, to offer over-the-counter betting solutions and retail betting kiosks.
A winning combination for Wind Creek
Keith O’Loughlin, SVP Sportsbook, Digital for Scientific Games, said of the partnership with the U.K. sports betting brand:
“Betfred is one of the UK’s top-performing bookmakers, and their move into the U.S. will spark growth. Once again, a sophisticated and experienced sports betting operator has chosen OpenSports to responsibly grow its U.S. presence with our maximum reliability, scalability, and performance.”
He added:
“Together, Scientific Games and Betfred can make a massive impact in the sports betting arena by driving player engagement and putting their digital and retail sportsbooks at the forefront of this expanding landscape. Betfred is synonymous with giving UK customers a great value proposition, and we are confident that they will get great traction in the U.S. with this customer-oriented approach.”
Long histories
Both of Wind Creek’s chosen sports betting partners have long history of success in the industry. Scientific Games has provided sports betting since the late 1990s. The company serves a total of 35 sports betting customers in 16 countries.
Betfred began in 1967 and has become the largest privately-owned retail bookmaker in the world. The company has more than 1,650 betting shops in the United Kingdom. An additional claim to fame, Fred Done, one of the founding co-owners, pioneered paying out bettors early.
We can expect the first Betfred-branded sportsbook in the U.S. to launch some time this year, most likely in the summer, assuming Wind Creek gets licensing approval soon. Betfred would make nine PA online sportsbooks and 13 retail sportsbooks available in the state.
Related Articles
