- International Game Technology (IGT) has announced a partnership with Nisqually Red Wind Casino in Olympia, Washington to power retail sports betting at the property.
- The Red Wind Casino is owned and operated by the the Nisqually Indian Tribe.
- The Red Wind Casino is located in Northwestern Washington 60 miles south of downtown Seattle.
Washington State’s sports betting scene is–for now at least–a mixed bag. The bad news–very bad news–is the absence of mobile sports betting. You have to think it’ll happen at some point but for now it’s ‘MIA’. The good news is a vibrant retail sports betting ecosystem which is showing welcoming a variety of nationally known operators. BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook and FanDuel have already arrived in the state, as has gaming technology powerhouse IGT.
IGT continues to be a dominant force in the US sports betting market. They originally built a name as a provider of slots and video poker machines to casinos, but have expanded into a number of other gaming segments including lottery and sports betting. Sports betting is one of their fastest growing segments and the company has reorganized to better focus on its potential along with that of iGaming. IGT has put veteran Las Vegas bookmaker Joe Asher (formerly CEO of William Hill US) in charge of their sports betting efforts. He’s as sharp as anyone in the business and could prove to be a massive hire for IGT.
In addition to a variety of sports betting tech and data tools, IGT also offers a ‘turnkey bookmaking solution’ that has found plenty of customers–particularly among tribal gaming properties. The IGT PlaySports platform already powers sports betting at the Angel Of The Winds Casino Resort in Arlington, Washington as well as at the Turf Club Sportsbook inside the Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Airway Heights, Washington among others. Today, they announced a deal with the Nisqually Indian Tribe to power sports betting at the Nisqually Red Wind Casino in Olympia, Washington. The press release announcing the deal reports that they’ll be the eighth gaming property in Washington State to use IGT PlaySports technology. Overall, IGT PlaySports technology is used at over 70 gaming venues in the US and Canada.
Conrad Granito, Nisqually Red Wind Casino, General Manager, knows about IGT’s strength in Washington State’s sports betting market:
“Nisqually Red Wind Casino is excited to offer our guests additional gaming entertainment and elevated fan engagement by introducing an IGT PlaySports-powered sportsbook. Given IGT PlaySports’ leadership across Washington State and the turnkey nature of their solution, we are confident that we’ve found the ideal sports betting growth partner.”
Joe Asher, IGT President of Sports Betting, is excited to see the PlaySports product in another Washington State casino:
“In adding a sportsbook to its already impressive casino, Nisqually Red Wind Casino can leverage sports betting as a powerful player acquisition tool and a driver of extended property visitation. IGT PlaySports has significant experience powering sportsbooks at tribal casinos throughout the U.S. and we look forward to helping Nisqually Red Wind Casino create a must-visit destination for sports fans in Olympia and the surrounding areas.”
IGT PlaySports is deployed at more than 70 gaming venues across the U.S. You can go to https://www.igt.com/site/playsports and see an interactive map of all of the properties using the IGT PlaySports system.
