Last week, the Nevada Gaming Commission gave its unanimous approval to the granting of a gaming license to Entain, a London-based company that is a 50-50 partner with MGM Resorts International in the sports betting brand BetMGM.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the licensing process included determining the suitability of and granting key employee licenses to several executives.
One of these executives was Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of Entain, who appeared in front of commissioners and will join the board of directors at BetMGM.
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The commissioners asked the executives about the issues with social responsibility and money laundering that led to the UKGC’s $20.4 million fine in August. Even so, after looking into the situation, the commissioners were happy with the steps the company took to fix its compliance procedures.
Entain was once on MGM’s list of possible companies to buy, but earlier this month, the company said that buying its joint venture partner is not currently part of its strategic plans.
Focus Still on BetMGM Expansion
In January 2021, MGM made an offer to purchase Entain for $11 billion; however, the bid was declined. Experts thought there would be a bidding war, but MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said on the company’s earnings call for the fourth quarter earlier this month that any possible sale is off the table.
In an interview with Review-Reporting Journal, Hornbuckle stated that ”although they remain fully focused on BetMGM’s business through cooperation with Entain and making sure that that business continues to expand,” the company would not be shifting its attention away from that endeavor.
Entain earns Nevada license approval from state gaming commission https://t.co/y6tI68swXW
— Yogonet Gaming News (@YogonetNews) February 24, 2023
Following the completion of its acquisition of the Swedish online gaming company LeoVegas for a total of $607 million dollars, MGM will now investigate additional opportunities.
As for Entain, the acquisition of a license in one of the most populous states in the United States in terms of betting and gaming is a significant milestone in the company’s expansion across the country.
Ben Kieckhefer’s job as Northern Nevada Gaming Commissioner was recently given to Brian Krolicki. On Thursday, he led his first meeting as the new commissioner. Governor Joseph Lombardo gave the job of ”chief of staff” to the second person.
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