Churchill Downs Incorporated Launches Sports Betting at its Harlow’s and Riverwalk Casinos in Mississippi
Churchill Downs Incorporated Launches Sports Betting Under the BetAmerica Brand
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (August 23, 2018) – Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) announced today the highly anticipated launch of sports betting at CDI’s two casino properties in Mississippi. Beginning today, Harlow’s Casino Resort & Spa in Greenville, Mississippi, and Riverwalk Casino Hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi, will offer guests the opportunity to use CDI’s BetAmerica Sportsbook to bet on a diverse array of global sporting events, including professional and collegiate sports in the U.S.
Mississippi approved sports betting regulations following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in May, which overturned the federal law prohibiting the activity. Shortly after the decision, CDI announced a strategic partnership with industry leading platform provider, SBTech, to offer innovative and exciting integrated iGaming and sports betting products.
“The legalization of sports wagering in Mississippi is a great opportunity for Churchill Downs to deliver an innovative, state-of-the-art product that we believe will exceed our customers’ expectations,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “We are excited to get started and will take everything we learn from this experience to improve our offering in Mississippi and other markets over time.”
CDI is launching its inaugural sportsbook under the BetAmerica brand and intends to utilize this brand in additional states where sports betting is legalized. Casino guests will have the opportunity to bet on major professional sports including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and collegiate sports, as well as sporting events happening all over the world.
The BetAmerica Sportsbook areas in both casinos will feature first-to-market wagering, along with all-new big screen displays, broadcasting more than 100 different HD channels of sporting events and information. The BetAmerica Sportsbook kiosks are convenient and easy to use with superior technology that includes in-game betting and cash-out features for betting on sporting events in countries around the world.
As more states approve sports betting, CDI is poised to expand innovative entertainment offerings and state-of-the-art wagering technology.
About Churchill Downs Incorporated
Churchill Downs Incorporated is an industry-leading racing, online wagering and gaming entertainment company anchored by our iconic flagship event – The Kentucky Derby. We own and operate Derby City Gaming, a historical racing machine facility in Louisville, Kentucky. We also own and operate the largest online horse racing wagering platform in the U.S., TwinSpires.com, and we operate sports betting and iGaming through our BetAmerica platform in multiple states. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming with approximately 11,000 slot machines and video lottery terminals and 200 table games in eight states. Additional information about CDI can be found online at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.
Information set forth in this news release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”), which provides certain “safe harbor” provisions. All forward-looking statements made in this news release are made pursuant to the Act. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business or any deterioration in our reputation; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations; online security risk, including cyber-security breaches; inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events; increases in insurance costs and inability to obtain similar insurance coverage in the future; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; costs and uncertainties relating to the development of new venues and expansion of existing facilities; risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card and debit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; risks related to pending or future legal proceedings and other actions; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; work stoppages and labor issues; changes in consumer preferences with respect to Churchill Downs Racetrack and the Kentucky Derby; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; weather and other conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks and public health threats, including the ongoing impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19 virus); changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; increased competition in the horseracing business; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; our inability to utilize and provide totalizator services; changes in regulatory environment of our online horseracing business; number of people wagering on live horse races; increase in competition in our online horseracing; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our online wagering business; continued legalization of online sports betting and iGaming in the United States and our ability to predict and capitalize on any such legalization; inability to expand our sports betting operations and effectively compete; failure to manage risks associated with sports betting; failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment with respect to our mobile and online wagering products; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; and concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; and inability to collect gaming receivables from the customers to whom we extend credit.
Press Contacts
Nick Zangari
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Relations & Risk Management
Phone: (502) 394-1157
Email: [email protected]