Gaming Nation officials are prepared to expand the firm’s in-stadium betting system to the U.S. after the Supreme Court’s recent ruling cleared the way for individual states to legislate betting at sports facilities.
Last month, the court ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was unconstitutional, creating a whole new world for programming U.S. sports venues with gaming components.
For Gaming Nation, a Toronto firm that runs 50-50 raffles at about 80 North American sports facilities, it’s a huge opportunity to expand its betting piece as the situation unfolds over time.
In addition to charitable raffles, Gaming Nation runs sports betting windows at 37 stadiums across the United Kingdom, covering most Premier League soccer teams, said Scott Secord, Gaming Nation’s president and CEO. Those clients include Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Norwich City, Newcastle United and Sunderland.
In March 2017, Gaming Nation, formerly known as Pointstreak Sports Technologies, acquired BD Sport Group, which was founded in 2007 to supply sports betting services for U.K. soccer teams. BD Sport Group processes more than 3 million bets a season from football and rugby fans, and the average in-stadium wager has been about $25, Secord said.
“We act as the book in the process and use all of our proprietary technology to facilitate the bets in-stadium,” Secord said. “It’s our staff that mans the windows and kiosks and we have mobile bet takers throughout the stadium. We work with the clubs directly.”
For its raffle business in the U.S., Gaming Nation has 50-50 raffles established with both big league teams and colleges. Those clients donate half the money generated from raffles to charitable groups with ties to the teams and schools. The other half goes to the person holding the winning ticket. The next step is adding sports betting, pending local legislation.
“We bought (BD Sport Group) with the expectation and the hope that sports wagering would become legalized in North America,” Secord said. “We’re in good position to transfer our operation and technology and offer it to teams over here as well.”
To date, Gaming Nation’s roster for its 5050 Central system includes the the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals; Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox; the NBA’s Golden State Warriors; and Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union.
In the college space, Oregon, Maryland, North Dakota State and Southern Miss are among the schools using 5050 Central. Gaming Nation has deals with about 35 schools and agreements pending with 16 more institutions for the coming football season, Secord said.
“A lot of that has to do with the media rights holders, IMG and Learfield,” he said. “We’re doing more with them in conjunction with the schools. It’s a big growth opportunity.”
Over the past year, Gaming Nation introduced 50-50 raffles with its U.K. teams already running in-stadium wagering. To date, it has not affected the betting piece, Secord said.
“It’s a different purchase, a different mindset,” he said. “One is more the support of charity. If they win, great. On the sports betting side, being able to lay a wager on the game is more a fan experience than anything else. There’s a little more excitement on the outcome.”
The situation is similar to when the old Pointstreak first started gaining momentum with automated 50-50 raffles in the big leagues. There were some fears over whether it would hurt concessions sales if fans decided to buy raffle tickets over food and drink.
“Ultimately, it had the opposite effect,” Secord said. “Concessions went up as teams put in the 50-50 because the fans were more engaged as they saw the pot go up. They got up to buy their raffle tickets and ended up buying another beer or a hot dog. Or, they stayed later to see who won the raffle when some would typically leave earlier if there was a blowout.”
Domestically, big league teams have their eye on tapping into an industry that generates $150 billion annually from sports fans placing illegal bets, according to the American Gaming Association.
Many teams are halfway there. They have casinos sponsoring premium spaces such as Mystic Lake Club Purple at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the San Manuel Club at Staples Center in Los Angeles and the MGM Grand Tunnel Club at Ford Field in Detroit. In South Florida, Hard Rock International, whose name is on the casino owned by the Seminole Tribe down the road in Hollywood, Fla., holds naming rights for the Miami Dolphins’ stadium. In those deals, the activation in-venue revolves around hospitality and branding and does not extend to the gaming business.
But that could change in the future as the situation continues to unfold after the Supreme Court’s ruling. For teams, the next step is to add the gaming aspect to the game-day experience in those branded clubs. In Minnesota, Club Purple serves as the fantasy football lounge for Vikings fans. Those fantasy lounges are a natural fit for inserting more gambling elements, sports architect Dan Meis said.
Meis is designing a new soccer stadium for Everton F.C., a Gaming Nation client. Meis feels the time is coming for the integration of sports betting in U.S. stadiums.
“It’s an integral part of the experience in the U.K. and elsewhere in the world,” he said. “I could imagine sportsbook clubs very much like we see common to Las Vegas gaming resorts make their way into venues.”
On their own, officials with sports architect Rossetti, which also does work for casinos, are poised for the crossover. Before the ruling, Rossetti heard from teams calling the firm to see how they could convert premium areas to gaming spaces, said Matt Rossetti, the firm’s president.
In Detroit, the Greektown Casino-Hotel has been a Rossetti client over the past decade, and the firm’s work includes redesigning the “high roller room” and a food hall with new dining concepts. The casino, to be rebranded as Jack Detroit Casino-Hotel later this year, is owned by Jack Entertainment, a gaming company owned by Dan Gilbert, owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Detroit-based Jack Entertainment also owns casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Baltimore.
The Cavaliers hired Rossetti to design a refresh of premium areas as part of a $140 million renovation of Quicken Loans Arena, to be completed in 2019. The team said there had been no talk of Jack Entertainment’s casino properties getting a presence in the building as part of the upgrades. Gilbert’s Cleveland casino is a few blocks from the arena.
To this point, gambling in Ohio is restricted to table games and slot machines since the opening of the state’s first casino in 2012. Additional legislation would be required to legalize sports betting in Ohio, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported.
For Rossetti, it would be a seamless transition, said Kelly Deines, the firm’s creative director.
“Our knowledge of gaming environments can easily translate into an arena/stadium environment,” Deines said.
↧
FIRM RUNNING U.K. IN-STADIUM BETTING READY FOR U.S. ACTION
↧