Sydney studio’s Chicken Fox, Silver Lioness 4x and Eagle Sun to go live in U.S. land-based casinos

Specialist slots provider Lightning Box has reached an agreement with Konami Gaming, Inc. to supply the Las Vegas-based manufacturer with several of its most popular titles.

Konami enjoys a strong presence in the U.S. market and the collaboration will see three of the Australian provider’s best-performing games, Chicken Fox, Silver Lioness 4x and Eagle Sun go live in land-based casinos there in early 2021.

It will also further enhance Lightning Box’s presence in North America, having launched with British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and Ruby Seven Studios’ social casinos earlier this year, as well as establishing a successful foothold in New Jersey’s online market.

Peter Causley, CEO and co-founder of Lightning Box, said: “This is another significant deal for us as we continue to expand on three fronts in North America: land-based, online and social.

“Konami has established a very strong customer base in the US and we’re really looking forward to the reaction of casino players, who can now enjoy our games in more places than ever.”

Victor Duarte, Senior Vice President & Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Konami Gaming, Inc., said: “Like us, Lightning Box has a proven track record in the United States, and it made sense to team up with them to deliver more great gaming content on our gaming machines.”

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! It was again an eventful week at the USA, despite the still-active virus attack.

Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news, financial results and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Unibet, part of the Kindred Group, has officially entered into the Indiana Sports Betting Market. Unibet is now available to bettors in the Hoosier State, adding to Indiana’s already impressive sports betting landscape.

Online casino and sports betting operator Rush Street Interactive (RSI) and blank-check company dMY Technology Group have announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. As a result of the transaction, RSI will become a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange.

Financial Results

Newgioco Group has announced its operating and financial results for the first quarter of 2020. The Company reported a strong quarter in spite of global economic difficulties and shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Newgioco reported a year over year increase in revenue from $9.3 million to $10.2 million generated from $116 million in turnover (betting handle) during Q1 2020 which represents an increase in revenue of 9.8% over Q1 2019.

Partnerships

FanDuel Group has entered into a multifaceted, betting-focused partnership with The Ringer. As part of the deal, FanDuel has been designated the exclusive sportsbook, racing and fantasy sports partner of the multimedia sports and pop culture content hub created by Bill Simmons.

Transaction technologies supplier JCM Global has entered into a partnership agreement with Cash Processing Solutions which enables JCM to supply advanced high-speed count/sort equipment and cash management software in North America.

Global Payments Gaming Solutions, a division of Global Payments, has announced that Wynn Resorts has implemented its suite of igaming solutions for use in the New Jersey online gaming market. Through Global’s igaming solutions, Wynn Resorts can enable a multi-channel approach, with an online casino and sports betting.

Acquisitions

Mozzart, one of the leading sports betting and gaming companies in Eastern Europe, has acquired Meridianbet, the betting firm licensed by Colombian regulator Coljuegos since 2018. Meridianbet has been rebranded as Mozzartbet.

HeadsUp Entertainment International Inc has entered into the final stage of negotiations to acquire a licensed online sportsbook and online casino platform. HeadsUp revealed that is in the final stages of a deal to acquire between 50% and 100% of shares of the company, which has processed over $110m in wagers and reported over $5.2m in revenue in the past four years.

Soo Kim, the co-founder of hedge-fund giant Standard General, has scooped up three casinos on the cheap since the pandemic struck in March. The three acquired casinos are Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, Eldorado’s namesake property in Shreveport and Eldorado’s Montbleu in Lake Tahoe.

New Launching

Video Gaming Technologies (VGT) has launched its first-ever The Hunt for Neptune’s Gold lounge at Osage Casino Hotel, Tulsa on July 31. The 1100 square foot gaming space is adjacent to the hotel lobby and offers 32 of The Hunt for Neptune’s Gold games on the Helix XT cabinet.

Churchill Downs Incorporated has announced that it will launch its BetAmerica sports betting and iGaming platform in Michigan through a partnership with the Hannahville Indian Community.

Compliance

Las Vegas-based GameCo LLC has received a Casino Service Industry Enterprise License from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. The company is now able to bring its diverse portfolio of esports betting, skill-based iGaming and Video Game Gambling products to casinos and sportsbooks in New Jersey.

Supplier debuts games with high-profile online operator in Colombia – with US social casino to follow

Premium slots and table games provider Habanero has announced an agreement with Rush Street Interactive (RSI), the first United States-based gaming operator to launch a legal and regulated online sportsbook on a national basis in Latin America and a market leader in online casino and sports betting in the United States.

The Chicago-based company is known among its industry peers as the preeminent operator in the US online gaming market, having won the EGR North America “Mobile Operator of the Year” Award for 2019 as well as “American Operator of the Year” and “Casino Operator of the Year” at the 2019 American Gambling Awards.

Under the agreement, more than 50 titles from Habanero’s portfolio of engaging slots and table games have been launched on Rush Street Interactive’s RushBet.co, as well as taking its full portfolio of 170 games live with the group’s US-based social casinos in the near future.

The deal sees the supplier’s immersive gaming suite reaching a US audience for the first time, in addition to extending its LatAm reach following a string of major continental partnerships.

Commenting on the deal, Vera Motto, Business Development Executive at Habanero said: “We are thrilled to partner with Rush Street Interactive, a highly acclaimed group with an impressive multi-brand portfolio.

“We’re honoured to have been selected by an operator with such high standards and see this as testament to our record-breaking expansion over the past year. We look forward to a long and productive relationship together, especially when it comes to the US.”

Omar Calvo, GM at Rushbet.co added: “Habanero is a premium quality provider with a widely celebrated product suite, so we are delighted to partner with them as we continue to grow our existing catalogue of games for our players to enjoy.

“The supplier’s innovative slots and table games catalogue fits perfectly with our commitment to offer our players the most exciting mobile playing experience in Latin America, and we look forward to a productive commercial relationship across the Americas.”