Sportech and NYX Gaming enter US partnership
Joint venture will see Sportech and NYX supply social and real-money online games for the newly regulated US egaming market
Sportech has extended its product range in the US market to include gaming after entering a joint venture with NYX Gaming Group to provide B2B services to licensed operators in regulated states.
The partnership will see Sportech able to offer a full suite of games including bingo, casino, poker, and slots via the NYX platform to potential new licensees, as well as Sportech’s racetrack and casino clients across the US.
Sportech and NYX will each hold a 50% interest in the joint venture company, and will equally share both the set-up costs “ expected to be less than $400,000 “ and the profits.
The firm’s US business is currently focussed on B2B services under the Sportech Racing brand formed in 2010.
In July it signed a six-year multi-state deal to provide US operator Penn National Gaming with pari-mutuel wagering technology at its 11 racetrack properties, and extended a similar deal with New Jersey’s Monmouth Park Racetrack in April.
On the B2C side, it is also the exclusive operator of online betting on all horseracing in Connecticut, which was soft launched over the summer and will receive a full launch in time for the New Year backed by an “aggressive” marketing campaign.
The JV with NYX is its first foray into the US gaming space, however, and leaves Sportech well-positioned to win further partnerships as new states regulate online gambling.
“This joint venture with NYX will extend our US product range into a full suite of online games as and when regulations permit,” said CEO Ian Penrose (pictured).
“It complements our established US position as a trusted supplier of terminal and online betting systems for horseracing to racetracks and casinos,” he added.
Sportech’s interests on the Board will be served by Ian Hogg, COO of Sportech’s international consumer facing businesses, and Mark Gregory, managing director of Sportech’s US digital business.
Panmure Gordon analyst Simon French said it was is too early to predict how profitable the JV will be for Sportech, however he said the group will be able to immediately integrate its Advance Deposit Wagering system with the platform to offer social gaming products to customers.
“Sportech now has the optimum structure to capitalise on its existing relationships and ongoing US state regulation of online gambling,” he said.