Sports Lull Doesn’t Stop Caesars from Indiana, Virginia Expansion Plans

Caesars’ Indiana sportsbook has launched successfully with the news just in that the company has secured another license in Virginia.

Caesars Launches Successfully in Indiana

On Wednesday, May 20, Caesars launched its first official sportsbook in Indiana after receiving regulatory approval on Tuesday, May 19. The new sportsbook is powered by Scientific Games and it adds to Caesars’ impressive portfolio in the United States, with the company already running sportsbooks in other states, to name New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.

The company has tied up a partnership with the Horseshoe Hammond, as every online operator needs a land-based company to offer iGaming or sports betting products in Indiana.

Caesars will see a fair bit of competition in Indiana, competing against theScore and Unibet. Yet, not even the sports lull has been able to put Caesars off its expansion drive. In fact, now that it has Indiana in the books, the hospitality and gaming giant is looking into new markets, with Virginia next on the agenda.

Winning a Bid in Virginia Means a New Sportsbook

Earlier this week, on Monday, Virginia Business reported that Caesars Entertainment had won a bid to operate the sportsbook at a Danville-based casino. The company has chosen the property for its strategic location, as the casino is located near the border with Raleigh, North Carolina, and within driving distance of Richmond, Virginia.

Although no further information has been provided on the occasion, Virginia is a promising new opportunity for Caesars. The state just passed a law to legalize both land-based and online betting in April.

The added benefit of online betting would mean that Virginia should do much better in the upcoming sports betting industry than have states who have only opted for land-based options, such as New York.

Virginia’s Bold New Frontier for Caesars

Caesars’ early entry in the state is a confirmation about the company’s determination to vie with the powers that may be in the sports betting industry in the Old Dominion. Virginia will see at least four online entries with the number of licenses to sportsbooks capped at 18.

All sportsbooks will have to pay a 15% tax on gross sports betting revenue. On the plus side, the entry fee is attractive enough to incentivize numerous brands to try their hand in Virginia. The state will also allow some operators to carry on without a casino partner.

Even in the cases where a sportsbook has teamed up with a land-based property, the sportsbook can launch ahead of schedule if, say, the property is temporarily closed or still being built.

Meanwhile, Caesars is preparing to restart operations in Las Vegas, with the Flamingo and Caesars Palace being the first properties to reopen.