A four-state deal
Online gaming supplier Playtech will increase its presence in the US after sealing a new agreement with subsidiaries of Greenwood Racing Inc, owner and operator of Parx Casino in Pennsylvania.
rollout of Playtech products will begin with a Michigan online casino launch
The supplier announced the deal in a statement on Tuesday. In addition to Pennsylvania, Greenwood owns online casino and sports betting companies in Michigan, Indiana, and New Jersey. A rollout of Playtech products will begin with a Michigan online casino launch.
Through the deal, Playtech will expand outside of New Jersey for the first time since entering the US market last year. Mor Weizer, chief executive of Playtech, expressed his excitement over the agreement, saying: “This is the next step for Playtech in the US and we are delighted to work with the Greenwood companies to capture this exciting long-term opportunity.”
Building on US momentum
UK-based Playtech first established itself in Europe. It has since launched its products with 140 licensees in 20 regulated jurisdictions. It wasn’t until August of last year, however, that the supplier dipped its toe in the US market.
a “landmark” moment for the company
Playtech’s casino content first launched in New Jersey through one of its long-trusted partners, Bet365. At the time, the supplier’s chief operating officer Shimon Akad described Playtech’s expansion into the US as a “landmark” moment for the company.
In September, Playtech extended its New Jersey presence through a deal with sportsbook and online casino operator BetMGM. The joint venture between MGM Resorts and Entain added Playtech games to its New Jersey online casino platforms. This included BetMGM Casino, PartyCasino NJ and Borgata Online. Playtech intends to launch in more states with BetMGM in the future.
A difficult 2020 for Playtech
Playtech is yet to announce its full-year results for 2020, but it is known that the it experienced a turbulent beginning to the year. The company attributed this in part to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on B2B and B2C operations.
In its most recent trading update, Playtech saw revenue fall by 23% year-on-year for the first half of 2020 to a total of €564m ($686.1m). The company posted adjusted EBITDA of €162.3m ($197.4m), a drop of 15% from 2019 levels, while profit declined to €44.3m ($53.9m), down 36%.
As part of this update, Weizer outlined expansion in the US and Latin America as two of the company’s main strategies for future growth.