IGT Gets Boyd Bounce on Enhanced Sportsbook Deal with Gaming Company

Posted on: August 19, 2020, 06:52h. 

Last updated on: August 20, 2020, 09:58h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) rallied in Wednesday’s after-hours trading session on news of an expanded sportsbook relationship with Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD).

IGT Rallies On Boyd Deal
Fremont Casino in Downtown Las Vegas, one of the venues where IGT could power a Boyd sportsbook. (Image: US News & World Report)

Shares of the UK-based gaming technology company were up more than four percent at one point during the after-market session before settling higher by 2.75 percent. IGT stock closed lower by 1.83 percent during standard market hours.

IGT also makes gaming machines and provides technology and services for lotteries and will now make its PlaySports platform available to Boyd’s Nevada sportsbooks. The operator runs a dozen gaming venues in the southern part of the Silver State. But it didn’t say how many books will be rolling out PlaySports technology.

IGT’s PlaySports will also serve as the backbone for Boyd’s Nevada-based mobile sports app and online sports betting platform.

Boyd Gaming will deploy IGT’s self-service PlaySports Kiosks throughout its Nevada-based gaming venues. IGT and Boyd Gaming will take a phased approach for rolling out the features and services associated with this technology agreement,” according to a statement issued by the companies.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Adding to the Relationship

Boyd and IGT have a sports betting relationship that dates back to 2018 whereby PlaySports infrastructure is used at Boyd sportsbooks in Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.

The operator of The Orleans and Sam’s Town in Las Vegas runs 29 gaming venues in 10 states. Of those 10, six — Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, and Pennsylvania — have legal sports wagering. The Land of Lincoln is one of the newest entrants to the “live and legal” US sports wagering roster. But the statement on the enhanced agreement with IGT doesn’t mention that state.

Boyd’s sports betting footprint and potentially that of IGT could be increased as more states join the party. Of the four states where the gaming company operates that currently don’t have legitimate sports betting, Louisiana, Missouri, and Ohio are the most credible candidates to change that status from “no” to “yes” over the near- to medium-term.

In November, Pelican State voters will consider a sports wagering ballot proposal that needs to be approved on a parish-by-parish basis, not at the statewide level. Boyd runs five casinos in that state.

Busy Stretch for IGT

Earlier this month, IGT surged on news of an expanded partnership with FanDuel, the company that runs Boyd’s sportsbooks. That deal runs through September 2024 and calls for PlaySports to power FanDuel’s existing and new US sports wagering locations.

Boyd and FanDuel teamed up soon after the 2018 Supreme Court ruling on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

While it isn’t the most direct play on the growth of the US sports betting market, Boyd does garner some praise from the investment community for foresight in partnering with companies like FanDuel and IGT.  That’s because it enables the operator to focus on its core competencies while still deriving some benefit from the accelerating US sports wagering opportunity.