Nevada’s sports betting leader is fortifying its position in Las Vegas.
William Hill is poised to acquire the assets of CG Technology (formerly Cantor Gaming) in both Nevada and The Bahamas. News of the takeover came in the form of a tidy press release that hit the wire after close of business Wednesday.
It’s another case of the shark swallowing the minnow, though CG has made the most of its relatively small footprint.
The company’s portfolio includes a total of seven Nevada sportsbooks, concentrated around a few of the finest properties on The Strip. Its other, one-off operation at Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island is also part of the sale.
Here’s US CEO Joe Asher on the new additions to his William Hill US empire:
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement. This will allow us to expand our Las Vegas footprint to several marquee resorts. We look forward to working with our new casino partners and transitioning CG Technology’s retail and mobile customers to our award-winning offering.”
The terms of the acquisition are not public but William Hill CEO Ulrik Bengtsson called the cost not material. The deal requires regulatory approval in both jurisdictions. The two parties expect the deal to close in the first half of 2020.
William Hill’s Nevada sports betting empire
William Hill is quick to point out that it is one of the world’s largest bookmakers, and its scale certainly shows in Nevada. The company operated 113 race- and sportsbooks in the Silver State before this announcement, though it previously lacked a significant presence on the Strip.
This deal removes a competitor from the market and brings the William Hill brand to some of the city’s shiniest casino gems:
- The Cosmopolitan
- The Palazzo
- Palms
- Silverton
- Tropicana
- The Venetian
William Hill furthermore presumes to take over operations for Caesars Sportsbook locations across the country, should its separate transaction with Eldorado Resorts come to fruition. That proposed merger is also pending approval and moving ahead on an early-2020 timeline.
Per the latest report from the state regulator, Nevada is home to around 200 total sports betting locations.
Sayonara, CG
CG Technology has a history littered with mistakes and consequences.
The company has thrice been disciplined by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, including threats of license revocation as recently as last year. Regulators did not ultimately impose that death sentence, but they have levied nearly $10 million in total fines across those three instances.
As ESPN reported back in 2016, the company was also involved in an “illegal gambling and money laundering scheme” that cost it another $22.5 million in federal penalties.
Still, the loss is a significant one for the Strip.
CG books have traditionally been ahead of the pack in their offerings, including some of the most robust in-play betting options in the market. This ongoing consolidation of on-Strip sportsbooks gives visiting bettors just a handful of options from which to choose.
So the end has come for CG Technology finally, with the purchase by William Hill. Someday someone will write the definitive story about how that company constantly shot itself in the foot when there was so much promise.
— Roger Gros (@GlobalGamingBiz) November 21, 2019
Indeed, this does look like the end of the road for CG. If all goes well, its last act as a sports betting entity will be a seamless handoff to William Hill.