Political Battle
“The sometimes nasty legal battle that Cantor Gaming launched two years ago against former executive Joseph Asher has now extended to arch rival William Hill PLC.”
Todd’s Take: Sometimes relationships in the tight knit gambling community don’t end well. What we’re seeing unfold between William Hill and Cantor Gaming amounts to a turf war over intellectual property, the culmination of bad blood between Hill’s head man Joe Asher and Cantor’s CEO Lee Amaitis. Both stand alone sportsbook operators are trying to gain a larger piece of Nevada resident’s wallet share, a pool of betting dollars that very much remains finite. Both of these operators are actively pushing mobile apps as a significant portion of their future business strategy. Stations remains the only other player with a mobile application capable of challenging the heavyweights although one has to wonder how long before major casino operators Caesars Entertainment and MGM realize the revenue opportunities they’re leaving on the table. The problem with this ongoing dispute among competitors are the larger conflicts it creates for the industry as a whole. Las Vegas needs to be more proactive in developing technology and betting offerings capable of rivaling the bigger betting houses throughout Europe and that other faction of books deemed “illegal” by our department of justice. Without innovation in the race and sports business, revenues will remain stagnant. Eventually a time will come, one with increased market competition, and Las Vegas as we know it will get left in the dust.
