Online and land-based gaming giant Golden Nugget has expanded its supply agreement with Scientific Games to include its OpenSports betting product suite.
The new partnership, which runs to 2024, covers the provision of technology across multiple states, verticals and channels, and will see the operator migrate from the SBTech sportsbook solution that it launched in February 2019.
Scientific Games will continue to supply Golden Nugget with its OpenGaming product suite in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, expanding to other states as regulation permits.
This includes the Open Gaming System content aggregation platform and player account management products, and continues a relationship first struck between the operator and NYX Gaming Group in July 2015.
Golden Nugget’s SG-powered igaming offering has helped the brand become the market leader in New Jersey’s online casino market, generating revenue that has surpassed its land-based total in some months last year. The most recent results, for January 2020, revealed a 74.1% year-on-year rise in revenue to $21.2m, amounting to a 35.1% share of the market.
Its sports betting offering, on the other hand, has struggled, with January revenue amounting to $547,909. This was due in part to New Jersey regulations preventing it from offering betting on the National Basketball Association, due to Tilman Ferttita – owner of its parent company Landry’s – also owning the Houston Rockets franchise.
However, a bill passed by the New Jersey legislature in August last year amended the laws to allow operators in this situation to take bets on the league, though not on the teams owned by their controlling shareholder.
The full OpenSports product suite is to be deployed initially focused on New Jersey, and supported by managed trading services from Don Best Sports, acquired by Scientific Games in October 2018.
There is also an option to move into other states as Golden Nugget secures licences or market access. An option to launch OpenSports in retail locations in states such as New Jersey, Mississippi and Nevada is also in place.
“We have a long history with Scientific Games, and their technology is a cornerstone of our sports betting and iGaming strategy,” Golden Nugget senior vice president and general manager for online gaming Thomas Winter (pictured) commented.
“We’re thrilled to continue working with them to bring a consistent and best-in-class experience to our players across multiple products, nationwide.”
Jordan Levin, chief executive of Scientific Games’ SG Digital subsidiary, said the supplier looked forward to building on the companies’ long-standing igaming relationship and expanding into sports betting.
“Golden Nugget has a wide player base across the US, having pioneered the igaming space in New Jersey from its earliest days, and we’re excited to power their sports betting and igaming presence, providing a seamless and reliable end-to-end betting experience,” he said.