NetEnt enters into strategic partnership with DraftKings to enhance New Jersey regulated online gambling expansion
NetEnt has penned an online casino supply agreement with daily fantasy sports and sports betting operator DraftKings for the regulated online gambling market of New Jersey, the Swedish company announced today.
The recently signed deal will aid both NetEnt and DraftKings in their efforts to cement themselves in one of the few US states where online gambling is legal.
The agreement will see NetEnt launch a wide selection of its most popular online casino games in New Jersey with DraftKings. The roll-out of content is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
News about the latest landmark deal of the Swedish developer and provider of online casino games emerge shortly after it secured a permanent license from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Commenting on the DraftKings deal, Erik Nyman, Managing Director of NetEnt Americas LLC, said in a statement that they are very excited to work with a company that has established itself “as the world leader in fantasy sports.” Mr. Nyman went on to say that with its large player base, DraftKings will be able to “add a new dimension to the market and [they]
are confident that their players will enjoy [their]
popular games.”
DraftKings entered New Jersey’s gambling market last August with the launch of the state’s first sports betting app after the practice became legal. Its digital operation quickly became a dominant force in the newly regulated market. In December, DraftKings debuted its online casino in New Jersey.
US Expansion amid Troubles at Home
Aside from unveiling its partnership with DraftKings, NetEnt also reported today its financial results for the first quarter of the year. The company’s revenue declined nearly 3% to SEK418 million (approx. $43.8 million).
NetEnt attributed the drop to its domestic market. The company’s CEO, Therese Hillman, said that the Nordics “accounted for almost the entire slowdown, mainly due to lower volumes in Sweden” where the market was re-organized early this year.
Ms. Hillman went on to comment that the country’s new gambling law “impacted [their]
customers and players to an extent that [they]
had not foreseen” and that “the combined effect of fewer players and lower average revenue per user has led to a weak start on the new regulated market.”
In the US, NetEnt saw a “continuing strong growth” in New Jersey, which Ms. Hillman described as “a market that still has much lower online penetration” than the Nordics and that she expects will grow “for many years to come.”
As mentioned earlier, NetEnt obtained this past February a permanent Casino Service Industry Enterprise license from New Jersey gaming regulators. The company applied for the license in 2015 and was granted a transactional waiver to go live with its products in the state while awaiting the issuance of its permanent license. NetEnt launched its first products in New Jersey with Resorts Casino in Atlantic City in December 2015.
The company has also been granted a license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to provide locally regulated online gambling operators with its products. First online gambling services are expected to be launched in that state in July 2019.
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