Nevada sports betting operator CG Technology — which runs a number of major Las Vegas sportsbooks — appears set go to auction next month, according to industry sources.
CG and the auction, at a glance
The report about CG came via Twitter:
Word on the street is April 15 all of @CGTechnology_ will be auctioned off to the highest bidder; starting price for assets & license (1/2)
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) March 13, 2017
$15M and there are multiple operators interested including an existing Vegas presence, Irish group, and 3rd European entity (2/2)
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) March 13, 2017
Industry sources say UK online sportsbook operator Betfair — which merged with Irish and UK bookmaker Paddy Power in 2016 — is the most likely to win the auction.
CG’s place in Nevada sports betting
CG Technology — previously known as Cantor Gaming — is a subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald. Its flagship location is at the M Resort on the south end of the Las Vegas valley. CG Technology leases and operates sportsbooks in major Las Vegas resorts that include:
- Cosmopolitan
- Hard Rock
- The Palazzo
- Palms
- Silverton
- Tropicana
- The Venetian
CG Technology has been ahead of the curve when it comes to live, or in-play betting in Nevada, where players may make a wager for an event in progress. It is also the first and only Nevada book to allow entity wagering.
CG did not have a great 2016, from a legal and regulatory standpoint. CG’s CEO stepped down in 2016, and the company had to pay a fine of $1.5 million as part of a settlement with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. CG also paid $22.5 million to the federal government as part of a settlement “for its role in an illegal gambling and money laundering scheme,” ESPN reported.
(Of course, Betfair is no stranger to controversy over the years, either.)
If it is Betfair…
Moving into Nevada would be yet another signal that the company wants to be a part of the US regulated sports betting and gambling market in a meaningful way. Betfair operates an NJ online casino.
The cost of the merger with Paddy Power proved expensive, per the final 2016 financials for the company. But it showed growth in sports betting — both during 2016 and for the full year, to the tune of 19 per cent for all of 2016.
Another UK bookmaker, William Hill, is already established in Nevada. It operates more than a hundred sportsbooks in the state under William Hill US.
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