It looks as though sports bettors in Illinois will have access to another exciting sportsbook as a deal with Kindred’s Unibet and Penn National has been announced.
The deal will see Kindred pursue a sports betting license through Penn National’s Argosy Casino Alton for online sports betting in the state. And, that’s not all. The brand new partnership grants market access for Ohio, once legislation is approved, thanks to Penn’s Hollywood Casino.
Now that the deal has been signed and announced, it’s clear that Kindred is making an expansion throughout the United States its top priority.
What the Deal Entails
As for the specifics regarding the deal, not much information has being released as of yet. One aspect that has been reported is that the duration of these deals between Unibet and Penn Valley will last 10 years.
Each agreement (Penn’s Hollywood Casino and Penn’s Argosy Casino Alton), will also cover both online casinos and sports betting. Of course, all of this is pending relevant approval by state agencies.
All of this comes as the result of Kindred’s Unibet looking to carve out their niche in the US market. As it stands, Unibet is currently live in three different states, with Indiana being its most recent launch.
It can also be found in Pennsylvania, where it launched last November and in Jew Jersey where it launched a year ago. With success in other states, the fast growing gambling entity has trained its eyes on both Ohio and Illinois according to Manuel Stan, SVP of Kindred US:
“Illinois is one of the largest US states and it will be the next state that we are targeting to launch.”
As of now, there’s been no mentioning of when Unibet’s launch date will be in Illinois. All that Stan would say is that it would happen “as soon as possible.”
Other States Have Shown Positive Results for Unibet
A big part of why Unibet is looking to expand is the fact that it’s had such a strong reception in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Gross revenue for the two states combined in 2020 Q2 grew by 131% over that of Q1. That’s a clear indicator that the industry is robust, there is interest, and that there is growth and money to be made.
Meanwhile, in Illinois, sports betting has already gone live and there has been a race for sportsbooks to also go live in the state. So, while there was certainly interest for Unibet to open up in Illinois, the fact that they could also move into Ohio through Penn National is a huge bonus.
Right now, experts believe that of all the states left to legalize sports betting, Ohio is the top contender to get the legislation done before the end of 2020. Ohio is attracting a lot of interest for this reason as all eyes are looking at the state with major cities as fertile grounds for gambling.
Unibet isn’t just viewing Illinois and Ohio as the conclusion of their expansion, rather they are looking at the United States potentially becoming the largest gambling market in the world.
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
