Our weekly roundup of the casino news begins with a couple of big brands and their moves in the digital realm. To no one’s surprise, online gaming is where the action is these days.
Will Hill Sees Significant Uptick In Online Action
William Hill is one of the pillars of the betting community. The publicly traded company, which has several brick and mortar locations in the United Kingdom as well as an online operation, is reporting that its online numbers have grown significantly. There has been an increase of 13% in its online sports betting this year, which is one of the reasons the share price is up. Mobile betting is fueling a lot of that action as the company has also seen an uptick, going up 10% this year. Players are moving away from the land-based options and betting either from home or on the go.
Betting shops still account for about 55% of total revenue at William Hill, but that number is on the decline. William Hill is following up the lead of other sportsbooks in that they’re offering odds on social media sites such as Twitter, and they have apps for betting now to make it even easier for the player. Not to mention betting shops seem to be under tighter restriction in the United Kingdom, so the online market will likely be even more successful for William Hill.
MGM Online Casino Launches In New Jersey
MGM Resorts International has launched their online casino in New Jersey. The name of the site is playMGM, which is already live in Nevada with the MGM sports betting app. It is now live in New Jersey, along with Scores Casino, which along with MGM is under the Borgata license in the state of New Jersey. There are all sorts of options for customers at playMGM, which includes over 200 slots machines, video poker, roulette, blackjack, bingo and craps.
Like William Hill, MGM is starting to realize where the market is going and that is online, so they are making a shift now so that they can be a power player in the digital space as well. It is also a boost for Borgata, which is second in the iGaming market behind Golden Nugget. Getting together with a big brand like MGM can only help matters, so keep an eye on how this relationship works out.
Trump Brand Moving Into Macau?
Is Macau becoming Trump territory? DTTM Operations LLC, which is associated with United States President Donald Trump, has been approved for a real estate development in Macau. That includes hotels and restaurants. This is a big move for DTTM, which you may recall President Trump says he has nothing to do with anymore as he handed it off to his sons and another employee.
Right now, Macau is the home of Wynn and the Las Vegas Sands, but DTTM would like to get in on the action similarly to how they have in Las Vegas with the Trump Hotel. Revenues in Macau have rebounded after Chinese restrictions put them in a stranglehold in recent years.
Trump and China have been going head-to-head over North Korea, so it’ll be interesting to see how friendly – or unfriendly – the Chinese government is to Team Trump and his family’s endeavors in Macau.