Wynn Resorts Sports Betting Partnership With BetBull

Wynn Resorts has announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with European betting operator BetBull. The partnership will leverage Wynn’s brand name in the United States with BetBull’s experience in online betting to pave the way for the joint venture to capitalize on new sports betting opportunities in the USA. Read our WynnBet sportsbook review for more information.

In a press release issued yesterday, Wynn Resorts revealed it will make an equity investment in BetBull to own 22.5% of the European company. The press release is short on details, but we’ve seen enough similar such agreements in recent months to take a stab at predicting the general form this partnership will take.

Joint ventures between major, land-based gaming companies headquartered in the US and international online betting sites have become fairly routine since the Supreme Court ended the federal sports betting prohibition.

These ventures are taking place out of necessity as the states that have legalized sports betting since the Supreme Court’s decision have all shared at least one thing in common: restricting sports betting licenses to land-based casinos located inside that state.

For instance, the New Jersey sports betting law requires all online betting sites to operate off a license held by one of the state’s casinos or race tracks. Each New Jersey casino may lend its online license to approved third-party providers. Thus, the New Jersey market will eventually have more online betting sites than there are actual casinos even though every online site will always be connected to one land-based casino or another.

Similar legislation has passed in West Virginia as well, where each of the state’s five casinos may contract with up to three third party sports betting providers to ultimately allow up to 15 individua online betting sites to operate.

Land-based casinos have enthusiastically embraced the legalization of sports betting since the Supreme Court decision, but few have significant experience running retail wagering – let alone online betting.

Even some of the few casinos operators in the US that do have experience with sports betting in Nevada have teamed up with major sports betting services providers that simply have much more experience in setting lines, managing user accounts and data, complying with technical regulations and so on.

So, with that in mind, we can make an educated guess that Wynn Resorts has chosen BetBull to assist in the technical side of not just sports betting, but online sports betting. What makes Wynn’s choice in partner for sports betting interesting is BetBull is not a typical online betting provider.

How Wynn and BetBull Stand to Benefit

When we consider the Wynn and BetBull partnership in context of how gaming legislation has played out across the US, it’s obvious what each party brings to the table.

Wynn Resorts International gains an experienced online betting partner in BetBull. Wynn does have sports betting in Nevada at the Wynn and Encore properties, but the offerings there are limited. Bringing on an experienced operator (especially one that has shown an ability to integrate a social aspect into the experience) will allow Wynn to up its game in Nevada and elsewhere.

Wynn is also constructing Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is not in play as a sports betting state right now, but as we’ve seen with New Mexico, things can change fast. Wynn is clearly preparing to target the sports betting market in the US with this deal. How Wynn will go about that exactly remains unclear, but no matter what, it won’t hurt to have a competent online gaming partner at the ready.

BetBull benefits by riding Wynn as an entry point into the valuable US sports betting market. With the world’s biggest, most robust economy and a population that already loves sports betting, the US is a ripe market primed with opportunity.

BetBull itself would have a difficult if not impossible time entering the US market without a US-based gaming partner. So, BetBull gets access to the market and Wynn gets an experienced online gaming partner. It’s a Wynn-win situation, if you will.

About BetBull

BetBull is a European sports betting operator that is registered in Malta and holds a UK Gambling Commission license to operate in the UK. BetBull stands out from other major European betting sites in that it is a mobile-first website with a strong social element that is key to the user experience.

Most sports betting sites are set up in a fairly predictable manner: they offer a desktop platform and mobile apps and then customers log in, choose a sport, place bets, win or lose money, cash out and repeat.

BetBull, by contrast, is mobile only and includes a significant social element. Unlike other betting sites, customers cannot visit the BetBull website and log in from their desktops. BetBull is offered only as a betting app for iOS and Android devices.

The mobile-only approach is unique its own right, but where BetBull really veers off the beaten path is the social element embedded into the app itself. Rather than logging in, placing bets and logging off in solitude, customers can chat with one another, share their winning wagers and follow their favorite tipsters. In other words, BetBull resembles what you’d get if you combined Twitter with an online sportsbook.

BetBull also pushes the social element with a rewards system that levels up players for placing wagers. The more a customer wagers, the higher they move up through the rewards system and the better their odds get. BetBull even has a loot system of sorts with chests containing hidden items that can later be used for power-ups such as odds increases as high as 30%.