After offering sports betting for a short time in West Virginia and losing their service provider, Delaware North is now ready to get back into the game. The company has announced a new deal this week with IGT, with sports betting coming to retail properties of the brand via the IGT PlaySports solution. IGT will be powering sportsbooks in West Virginia and Arkansas for Delaware North.
Back in Business
In the state of West Virginia, Delaware North is in charge of the Wheeling Island Casino Hotel Racetrack and the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort. In the state of Arkansas, the brand is the operator behind the Southland Casino Racing venue.
IGT will now be powering these facilities for sports betting services and this will mark 11 states that the provider is now operating in both retail and digitally. IGT is well known for their online gaming solutions, including slot gaming software, on top of their sports betting platform.
Back Story
For Delaware North, this new partnership is the beginning of a comeback story. The brand was one of the first to offer sports betting in West Virginia, which was one of the first states to become involved in the new industry when the Supreme Court ruled PASPA was no longer valid.
Quickly, Delaware North offered gaming via Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island as well as online via the BetLucky app. However, after just a short period of time, the sports betting operations of the brand were shut down.
The shut down came out of nowhere and Delaware North was dumbfounded. Come to find out, their gaming partner, Miomni Gaming had a partner as well, with EnterG. Delaware North had stipulated with Miomni that no third-party be involved, however that was not the case. EnterG. Shutdown the operations of Delaware North as they were the technology supplier.
After the shutdown, Delaware North began looking for a new partner, having cut ties with Miomni Gaming. In the meantime, West Virginia was without an online sports betting option and short on their land-based outlets. For months, the state was unable to earn the much-needed revenues expected from sports betting due to the site and retail losses.
Details of the launch for both on-site and online sports betting have yet to be revealed. We have no idea when services will be up and running again in West Virginia, but many are hoping that the product will be ready to go by this weekend when the Super Bowl takes place. The big event featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers has massive revenue potential and would be a great starting point for the new service options.
Brian Hansberry, the Delaware North Gaming Division President, commented on the new partnership with IGT by stating that they are confident in the new partnership and that they will be able to establish themselves as a preferred provider of sports betting in Arkansas and West Virginia.
IGT is also excited to be working with Delaware North. Enrico Drago, the Senior Vice President of IGT PlayDigital, commented the company is proud to have added Delaware North to their growing list of customers based in the US.
We shall see once the offerings are up and running just how West Virginia fares when it comes to sports betting revenues. With the operations back up and running, it should help the state reach or come closer to their early revenue projections.
