In the United States, sports have been missed for several months now as professional leagues have cancelled or postponed seasons due to the coronavirus. For sports bettors, the lack of betting has been annoying but for operators, it has been detrimental. Sportsbooks are basically earning nothing as there are no sports to bet on. Operators are turning to obscure sports, virtual racing or other options to bring in much-needed revenues. For William Hill, the operator has now revealed plans to create an online casino in the US to make up for sports betting shortages.
Launching Soon
William Hill has revealed it will launch a new US online casino in the second half of 2020. Net revenues in the US have fallen for the company by 90% due to the loss of sports. The company has used this down time to get their thinking caps going and have decided to launch an online casino to make up for lost revenues.
The new online casino will debut in New Jersey, with CEO Ulrik Bengtsson stating that it will launch in every state where online gaming is legal. This would mean Pennsylvania and Michigan. Analysts asked for insight as to what the brand would be and what type of tech would be used, but the CEO was not ready to give out any details.
It was suggested in the past though that such an offering would have the William Hill name due to an investment with the CBS Sports brand. According to Bengtsson, an online casino will be helpful as they continue operating without sports. The CEO has seen the first demo and is confident that it will be ready to launch soon.
An Important Change
William Hill has been successful in the US with their sports betting option. However, without sports and no idea when leagues will play again, the operator had to look towards something fruitful. Online casino gaming is the way to go. Players in states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania are flocking to online gaming sites.
Players have access to slots and table games along with video poker, specialty games and live dealer. Jumping into this sector could be big bucks for William Hill. They already have devoted players via their sportsbooks and can pull from that sector. They also are a well-known brand, so that recognition will help to bring in traffic as well.
Already over the past few months, New Jersey has seen an influx of players to their online gaming sites. Just last month, reports showed that over $80 million was generated via online casino and poker games. With another site in the mix, especially one by William Hill, the state is sure to see even higher revenue numbers.
We expect over the next few weeks for additional details to be provided, and hopefully a launch date so we can be ready for the William Hill online casino when it launches!
