GAN Makes Sports Betting Debut in US
A new challenger approaches: the latest sports betting operator on the block, GAN, has announced its debut in the US sports betting market with the launch of its sports betting product at the Island View Casino in the Southern state of Mississippi. Players at the casino will now be able to place bets at 20 physical internet-connected kiosks.
Brand news sports betting provider GAN has announced its debut in the US sports betting market with the launch of its sports betting product at the Island View Casino in Mississippi. ©12019/Pixabay
Launch Largely Possible Thanks to GAN Acquiring Vincent Group – Parent Company of Coolbet
The US sports betting market has gained yet another participant: GAN has announced that it has finally entered the ring with its sports betting product thanks to a partnership with Island View Casino in the Southern state of Mississippi. The news marks the operator’s first major move in the US market ever since it first acquired Coolbet all the way back in January 2021.
Mississippi sports betting fans who patronize the casino will now have the ability to put down sports bets at 20 physical internet-connected kiosks, with GAN also revealing that it will also roll out a ‘Bet the V’ branded mobile sportsbook to support its retail offering.
GAN’s GameSTACK Player Account Management (PAM) system for omni-channel sports betting will support the operator’s mobile sportsbook offering, facilitated through both retail kiosks or mobile devices while players are on location at the casino.
Part of the deal also reveals that GAN will furnish Island View Casino with supporting marketing and customer services. The state-wide roll out of mobile sports betting will also follow suit, provided that Mississippi passes the necessary laws and regulations to expand sports wagering in the future. As of writing, consumers are only permitted to place mobile bets while physically present on-site at a licensed casino.
All of this was made possible after GAN acquired Vincent Group, the parent company of operator Coolbet, for a not too shabby $175.9 million in January 2021. The GAN Sports offering is, naturally, structured on Coolbet technology. The operator said it anticipates further launches of GAN Sports throughout 2023.
GAN is Deeply Pleased with the Sales Momentum of its Omnichannel Sports Betting Product
To celebrate the momentous occasion of GAN’s launch in the highly competitive US sports betting market, chief executive and president Dermot Smurfit made claims that the GAN Sports product will be a particularly innovative product for sports betting fans:
“Following our 2021 acquisition of Coolbet we are thrilled to announce the premiere of GAN Sports, perhaps the most innovative sports experience available on-property anywhere in the US today.”– Dermot Smurfit , Chief Executive and President, GAN, Press Release
Smurfit continued his statement by noting that the operator is deeply pleased with its sales momentum thus far, foreseeing continued success in the future:
“We are greatly encouraged by the sales momentum for our omnichannel sports betting technology and managed trading services solution and anticipate a high-margin financial contribution as the economics of B2B sports technology provision are highly favorable and incremental to our existing B2B offerings.”
For its part, Island View Casino Resort vice president of operations, Steve Hendricks, referenced the sheer quality of GAN’s sports betting technology as to the reason behind why it chose to partner with the provider, highlighting the particular perks which await Mississippi sports betting fans who show up to the casino:
“We selected GAN for the quality of their sports betting technology and managed trading services following our evaluation of all major potential suppliers. GAN has now brought to our patrons an exciting new on-property sports betting experience enabled by their modern technology and market-leading user interface design greatly encouraging our patrons to construct high-margin, multi-stage parlay bets as well as traditional single-game wagers.”– Steve Hendricks, Vice President of Operations, Island View Casino Resort, Press Release
Kansas Legalized Sports Betting in May 2022
In other sports betting news updates coming out of the United States, a legislative bill which would authorize both sports betting and historical horse racing machines in the US state of Kansas was approved by the state’s governor and later signed into law back in May 2022.
After much deliberation, Senate Bill 84 was finally approved on May 12th, 2022, following the Senate presenting it to Governor Laura Kelly several days prior. The legislation permits sports betting to be included under Kansas’ expanded lottery act. Historical horse racing machines can now also be included – only this time under the Kansas Parimutuel Racing Act.
And in March 2022, players in the US state of Louisiana wagered a whopping $211 million during the first full month of legal sports betting in the Gulf State. And not only this – during the first four days of regulated online sports gambling in January and February 2022 alone, consumers already managed to wager upwards of $40.5 million.
First in line in Louisiana was Caesars Entertainment, whose Caesars Sportsbook mobile betting product was already on offer all the way back in October 2021. Caesars co-president Eric Hession even characterized the Louisiana and Gulf Coast region as symbolically important to the operator:
“Louisiana and the entire Gulf Coast region are a special part of the Caesars family. We couldn’t be more excited to build on our longstanding commitments in the state with the launch of legal sports betting. We know how passionate Bayou State sports fans are about their teams and we’re confident our brand-new Caesars Sportsbook app and the exciting offers we have for launch can offer them a sports experience that can’t be matched.”
Sports Betting Legislation Introduced in South Carolina in April 2022
Meanwhile, in yet another Southern US state, South Carolina had its own legislative bill seeking to permit legalized forms of sports wagering introduced and referred to the state Committee on Judiciary back in April 2022.
The details of the bill, known as House Bill 5277, thus far deal largely with the issue of taxation, with operators who are granted a license to offer interactive sports wagering in South Carolina being forced to pay a privilege tax of 10% on adjusted gross betting income.
House Bill 5277 also specifies that the state must pay 80% of the total privilege tax into the Education Lottery Account, 15% into a general fund, and 5% to the Department of Mental Health.
