The sports betting partnership between MGM Resorts International and the UK gaming giant GVC Interactive announced a deal Monday with a California Indian tribe, but it may be awhile before anything comes to fruition.
MGM GVC Interactive LLC said in a statement that it has struck a deal with the United Auburn Indian Community near Sacramento, in a first-of-its-kind partnership in both California and with the tribal gaming community.
United Auburn operates the Thunder Valley Casino Resort. MGM-GVC will operate sports betting for the tribe if California legalizes the activity.
In August, an effort to legalize sports betting in the state died in California Legislature.
States have been implementing sports wagering since the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a law in May that kept the activity from moving beyond Nevada. Since June, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi and West Virginia have legalized regulated sports betting at casinos and racetracks.
Internal forces, however, have kept California from legalizing sports betting. California’s three competing gaming interests – Indian casinos, horse racetracks and card rooms – have not yet been able to find consensus on any issue.
“It is not yet clear if California will authorize sports betting or interactive games generally, but with the (Supreme Court ruling) possibly opening the door for sports betting, our Tribe wants to be well-situated, and this agreement with the national leader in the field does just that,” Gene Whitehouse, chairman of the United Auburn tribe, said in a statement.
Under the terms of the partnership, MGM-GVC would provide its brands and proprietary technology to enable Thunder Valley to offer retail and mobile sports betting as well as online casino and poker, if and when any are permitted under state law.
“We are excited to have a partner the caliber of (United Auburn) as our first partner for MGM-GVC in Indian Country,” said MGM President of Interactive Gaming Scott Butera.
Adam Greenblatt, GVC Director of Corporate Development and Strategy, added, “We greatly admire the success the (tribe) has had with its Thunder Valley Casino Resort and look forward to adding to that success. The potential of this partnership is significant for MGM-GVC.”
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
