- Atlantic City’s Ocean Casino Resort has announced a partnership with US Bookmaking for retail sports betting.
- US Bookmaking was founded by legendary Las Vegas bookmaker Vic Salerno and is now a subsidiary of Elys Game Technology.
- The Ocean Casino/US Bookmaking partnership is slated to begin in March 2022.
One of the more interesting developments in the latter part of 2021 was the announcement that US Bookmaking would take over the retail sports betting operation at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City. US Bookmaking was founded by legendary Las Vegas bookmaker Vic Salerno and had carved out a niche providing retail sports betting services to a number of tribal gaming properties. US Bookmaking’s clients include Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel, Isleta Resort & Casino and Santa Claran Hotel Casino in New Mexico, the Odawa Casino Resort in Michigan, the Sky Ute Casino Resort in Colorado and the 4 Bears Casino & Lodge in North Dakota. They also power the mobile betting platform for Colorado’s Sky Ute Casino.
In September 2021, gaming technology company Elys Game Technology announced that they had completed the acquisition of US Bookmaking. In the press release announcing the closure of the deal, Elys indicated that US Bookmaking was a key component of their plan to gain market share in the US sports betting ecosystem. The press release indicated that US Bookmaking’s operations would continue as before. In December, they announced that they would be taking over the operation of the Ocean Casino Resort sportsbook. Previously, the sportsbook was operated by William Hill but since the company’s takeover by Caesars Entertainment they look to be extricating themselves from third party sportsbook management. As is the case at many sportsbooks previously run by William Hill throughout the US, all references to the company have been scrubbed from the Ocean Casino Resort website.
At the time the announcement was made, the press release indicated that US Bookmaking would take over the sportsbook operation at Ocean Casino in March 2022. As of now, they look to be right on target. Earlier today, Elys Game Technology issued a press release indicating that they had submitted their sports betting technology platform to New Jersey gaming regulators for certification:
Elys Game Technology, Corp. (“Elys” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:ELYS)(BER:3UW), an interactive gaming and sports betting technology company, announced today that it has submitted its U.S. Gameboard sports betting platform for certification to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, and has applied for a Transactional Waiver which once approved would permit the Company to begin installation procedures in the state.
The procedures are a vital step in the Company’s partnership through its wholly owned subsidiary, US Bookmaking, with Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ.
The press release also provided more background on Elys Game Technology:
Elys Game Technology, Corp., is a B2B global gaming technology company operating in multiple countries worldwide, with B2C online and land-based gaming operations in Italy. Elys offers its clients a full suite of leisure gaming products and services, such as sports betting, e-sports, virtual sports, online casino, poker, bingo, interactive games and slots in Italy and has operations in five states in the U.S. market. Elys’ vision is to become a global leader in the gaming industry through the development of pioneering and innovative technology.
The Company provides wagering solutions, services online operators, casinos, retail betting establishments and franchise distribution networks. Additional information is available on our corporate website at www.elysgame.com.
Michele Ciavarella, Executive Chairman of Elys Game Technology, had these comments on this part of the process:
“We are continuing to put full measures in place towards our launch with Ocean Casino Resort located in the heart of Atlantic City, and submission of our platform for certification to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement is a key milestone in achieving this objective. Our anticipated entry into New Jersey builds on our multi-pronged revenue strategy of expansion into the traditional casino business, development of the small business sportsbook market, and growth of the mobile i-Gaming market.”
There’s a strong possibility that we’ll see an Ocean Casino branded mobile sports betting app powered by US Bookmaking. From the sound of Ciaverella’s quote, i-Gaming could also be in the works. Previously, Ocean Casino operated a self titled i-Gaming app powered by GAN. As for mobile sports betting, they referred clients to the William Hill mobile app. They also have a market access deal with Tipico. As of this writing, there are no references to any mobile sports betting or casino platform on the Ocean Casino website which suggests that Elys could be in the process of taking over the operation of these as well.
