Nevada Gaming Board Approves William Hill’s CG Acquisition

Nevada has given green light for the acquisition of CG Technologies, formerly Cantor Gaming, by William Hill U.S.

William Hill Gets OK from Nevada to Acquire CG Technologies

The Nevada Gaming Commission has allowed Las Vegas sportsbook company CG Technologies to proceed with the sale of company assets to William Hill U.S., an established competitor on the U.S. market.

Some of the regulator’s executives were reportedly relieved that CG would move forward under another company’s umbrella as, over the past six years, CG had raked up a total of $10 million in fines in Nevada.

With the purchase of CG’s assets, William Hill CEO Joe Asher confirmed that his company would effectively be taking over six established Las Vegas Strip properties, including:

• Venetian Las Vegas
• Palazzo
• Tropicana Las Vegas
• Cosmopolitan Las Vegas
• Palms
• Silverton

William Hill is also taking control of 11 other sportsbooks in Nevada managed by the former Caesars Entertainment which completed a mega merger with Eldorado Resorts. Eldorado Resorts, the acquiring company, is also an active partnership with William Hill.

Following the board’s approval, William Hill will now be able to expand its footprint in what the company considers its smallest market, the Las Vegas Strip. Yet, Asher and his lawyer Scott Scherer are putting a bigger significance on the deal.

First, it would allow William Hill to grow and secondly, the company would benefit from a “statewide market,” which reflects how sports betting in Nevada runs. Besides, Scherer noted that half of all bets were placed via a mobile sports betting app.

William Hill’s Offer Grows Stronger with CG’s Assets

Furthermore, the company was able to provide the exact same lines and odds across every state in the United States. With the expansion, William Hill will now have more properties on the Strip, upgrading their count from what were previously just Circus Circus, Casino Royale, and Sahara.

Asher is looking to improve the existing portfolio of properties further. He will renovate both The Venetian sportsbook as well as invest in Silverton and provide sports fans with a state-of-the-art sports betting experience.

Asher explained to the NGCB that a litigation fee he was owed by CG was subtracted from the undisclosed price of the deal. The fee stemmed from a previous lawsuit that was filed Asher over whether he breached the terms of a non-compete agreement when he left CG back in 2007.

According to a Clarke County Court in Nevada, Asher was within his right. Asher used Nevada’s decision to also announce that The Bahamas had approved a deal enabling William Hill to supply the Atlantis on Paradise Island with a risk management consulting betting platform.

Asher assured the Nevada Gaming Control Board that all existing sportsbooks will transition to William Hill’s online offer seamlessly without any need for consumers to adapt to anything. CG’s mobile user will switch to the William Hill mobile app and the company will further hire between 80 and 100 former CG employees to work in the now William Hill’s sportsbooks.

Nevada is one of the most important markets for William Hill with 120 race and sportsbooks available in the state, and all connected with the mobile app. William Hill also runs operations in New Jersey, Indiana, West Virginia, Iowa, Illinois, and Colorado.

The company has secured licenses for running sports betting operations in other states as well, including New Mexico and Mississippi and the company is running a risk management service in Delaware and Rhode Island’s sports lotteries.