It was only a matter of time.
Tropicana Atlantic City announced this past week that it inked an official partnership deal with British sports betting giant William Hill, a move which puts them one step closer to opening a land-based sportsbook.
Steve Callender, Tropicana’s general manager, said in a press release he was excited to find such a sports betting partner:
“Tropicana Atlantic City is proud to partner with William Hill Race & Sports Book – America’s sports betting leader. We pride ourselves on creating unique and exciting experiences for our guests at Tropicana Atlantic City, and our sports betting offering will meet those expectations.”
He then teased the future Tropicana sportsbook and its offerings:
“A brand new venue is being created to host sports betting in the North Tower Casino, with kiosks located throughout the property. We are excited to share more details about Tropicana Atlantic City’s sports book in the coming weeks.”
Perhaps the most important point in the press release is that the Trop is building a land-based sportsbook. At the time of publishing, Tropicana and Hard Rock AC are two of the last casinos without a land-based sportsbook in Atlantic City.
By all indications, the Trop will most likely launch its sportsbook before Hard Rock, leaving the already-iconic property lagging behind in the NJ sports betting market.
William Hill extends influence in NJ sports betting
William Hill’s partnership with Tropicana is actually a partnership with Eldorado Resorts, the entertainment group which runs 21 properties across the country.
Some of its properties are in states in which sports betting is up and running. Nevada and West Virginia are two examples. The company also has two properties in Pennsylvania: Presque Isle and Lady Luck Nemacolin.
As far as New Jersey goes, Eldorado’s forthcoming sports betting products via Tropicana are William Hill’s third foray into the post-PASPA landscape of NJ sports betting.
The company runs the sportsbook at Monmouth Park and Ocean Resort Casino, virtually cornering the market on NJ sports betting until more properties open up land-based casinos.
William Hill was the top revenue earner in the state after June revenue numbers from the Division of Gaming Enforcement showed Monmouth Park bringing in more than $2 million amid only one competitor, Borgata.
Monmouth Park’s sports betting revenue dropped in July. But William Hill’s overall numbers approached $2 million between Monmouth and Ocean Resort.
Here is how the gross revenue played out among the five casinos that offered land-based sports betting in July:
- Meadowlands: $1.357 million
- Ocean Resort: $1.036 million
- Monmouth: $856,280
- Borgata: $562,830
- Bally’s: $17,738
William Hill and NJ online sports betting
In addition to the land-based sportsbooks at Monmouth Park and Ocean Resort, William Hill launched an online sports betting platform as well as Apple and Android apps.
At the time of publishing, its site offered the following sports on which you could place a bet:
- Auto
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Fighting
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- Other (cricket and rugby futures)
- Soccer
- Tennis
William Hill’s app, however, is one of seven now in the Garden State. DraftKings Sportsbook led the charge, but FanDuel Sportsbook, SugarHouse Sportsbook, playMGM, Caesars, and 888 Sport are all live.
A Tropicana sportsbook would make it nine retail sportsbooks in New Jersey.