Online gaming key to Boyd growth plans

Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith says the company is on track to become one of the first operators to launch online gaming in New Jersey under both Borgata and PartyPoker brands.

The operator of 22 casinos across the US, which on Tuesday announced it had increased Q2 revenues by more than 40% compared to the same period last year, is set to move online through partnership with bwin.party signed in 2011.

Smith cited online gambling as the most immediate opportunity to grow and diversify the business and confirmed New Jersey as its main focus despite Nevada already permitting online poker sites.

He said a full suite of slots, poker and table games will be released in collaboration with Boyd’s London-listed partner under the Borgata and Party brands, including PartyPoker with the Borgata deal seeing bwin.party acting as a B2B supplier and a separate B2C launch also expected from bwin.party.

“Over the last decade, we have built tremendous equity in the Borgata brand, which is widely known and well regarded in the market,” Smith said. “This brand leads the Atlantic City market by a wide margin and we are confident it will capture more than its fair share of the New Jersey online gaming market as well.”

Boyd Gaming has received an online poker licence in Nevada, however its software supplier bwin.party has yet to complete the approval process. Smith told eGaming Review earlier this year he sees New Jersey as a “much larger opportunity”.

New Jersey’s regulator plans to open the market on 16 November, offering all operators the chance to launch on the same date. Boyd and bwin.party have both submitted licence applications in the Garden State and await approval from the state’s regulator.

Boyd’s revenue boost, equating to US $738.7m, was attributed to the company’s acquisition of Peninsula Gaming in November.

Shares in the company rose 18%, the largest jump since April, which means its value has almost doubled over the past year.