Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) has secured access to a fifth state, signing a definitive access with Greenbrier Hotel Corporation to launch sports betting and online casino in West Virginia.
The roll-out remains subject to regulatory approval, and will see GNOG pay The Greenbrier, which is owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a percentage of online net gaming revenue, subject minimum royalty payments.
“The partnership with The Greenbrier is an important milestone for the Golden Nugget online gaming expansion plans,” GNOG owner and chief executive Tilman J. Fertitta said. “We look forward to providing West Virginian players with our best-in-class product.”
Under state regulations, land-based licensees can issue up to three skins for online sports betting, and three more for online casino. GNOG becomes The Greenbrier’s third sports betting partner, after FanDuel and BetMGM, and its second online casino skin after BetMGM.
The only other operator active in the casino vertical in West Virginia is DraftKings, which was the first to launch its offering in July this year, under Penn National’s Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races’ master license.
“The Greenbrier is excited about this new partnership and adding to the incredible casino offerings already in place for our guests, members and friends throughout West Virginia,” The Greenbrier’s president Dr Jill Justice commented. “Golden Nugget has proven itself as a market leader in the industry, and we’re confident it will deliver a product that matches the lofty standard that defines America’s Resort.”
The agreement also means that GNOG will have access to all for locally regulated online casino markets in the US, the operator’s president Thomas Winter noted.
It is live – and leading the market – in New Jersey, and in the process of applying for operating licences in Pennsylvania, and has access to Michigan through an agreement with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s Ojibwa Casino.
Last week GNOG also sealed an agreement to enter Illinois, initially with an online sportsbook product, but with provisions to add online casino as regulation permits. This is through an agreement with Danville Development, a joint venture between Wilmot Gaming Illinois, a subsidiary of New York-based real estate developer Wilmorite Management Group, and GN Danville, a wholly owned subsidiary of Golden Nugget.
Danville Development is to construct a new Golden Nugget-branded casino in the state.
GNOG is also in the process of spinning off from the core Golden Nugget business, combining with special purpose acquisition company Landcadia Holdings II, which will see shares in the business traded on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.