Churchill Downs Incorporated Launches Sports Betting Under the BetAmerica Brand
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 ("CDI") (Nasdaq: CHDN), headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is an industry-leading racing, gaming and online entertainment company anchored by our iconic flagship event - The Kentucky Derby. We are the largest legal online account wagering platform for horseracing in the U.S., through our ownership of TwinSpires.com. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming with approximately 10,000 gaming positions in eight states. We have launched our BetAmerica Sportsbook at our two Mississippi casino properties and have announced our plans to enter additional U.S. real money online gaming and sports betting markets. Additional information about CDI can be found online at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.
Information set forth in this press release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) provides certain “safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made pursuant to the Act.
The reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time and/or management’s good faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information. 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; 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, including the impact of natural and other disasters on our operations and our ability to obtain insurance recoveries in respect of such losses; 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; legalization of online real money gaming and sports wagering in the United States, and our ability to capitalize on and predict such legalization; the number of people attending and wagering on live horse races; 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; security breaches and other security risks related to our technology, personal information, source code and other proprietary information, including failure to comply with regulations and other legal obligations relating to receiving, processing, storing and using personal information; payment- related risks, such as chargebacks for fraudulent credit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; compliance with payment processing and payment transmission regulations; work stoppages and labor issues; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; the inability of our totalisator company, United Tote, to maintain its processes accurately, keep its technology current or maintain its significant customers; weather conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; increased competition in the horseracing business; changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; declining popularity in horseracing; seasonal fluctuations in our horseracing business due to geographic concentration of our operations; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; the cost and possibility for delay, cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the development and expansion of casinos; concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; impact of further legislation prohibiting tobacco smoking; geographic concentration of our casino business; changes in regulatory environment for our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; increase in competition in the advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; inability to retain current customers or attract new customers to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; and failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment in our ability to offer advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming.
Contact: Nick Zangari
(502) 394-1157
Nick.Zangari@kyderby.com