Aiming to combine the excitement of Sin City with the world of igaming, two giants within the casino industry have come together to allow players to take a digital seat at a real-life Las Vegas casino.
Speaking at SBC Summit, Playtech Live’s CEO Edo Haitin and Chrisitan Stuart, SVP, Head of Interactive at MGM Resorts International, pulled back the curtain on their companies’ collaboration to broadcast live casino titles directly from MGM’s Vegas resorts.
Haitin explained that Playtech has been looking into a Vegas venture for “years”, hoping to bring the privilege of an experience within one of the city’s casinos to other regulated markets across the globe.
The Playtech Live CEO hailed MGM as a “major player in the Vegas market and on the Strip”, explaining why the igaming supplier turned to the operator to launch its Vegas-based live casino product, MGM Live.
As a result of their partnership, Playtech has produced live casino titles in two of MGM’s flagship venues on the Vegas Strip – Bellagio and MGM Grand – using the operator’s branding.
Detailing why MGM was so keen to enter this venture, Stuart claimed that his company has “been looking at live casino for a while now”, after recognising “significant revenue” there as well as “significant players in that market”.
The pair from Playtech and MGM underlined the importance of allowing players to feel like they are part of the Vegas experience, with Stuart expecting players to be in the comfort of their own homes while being able “to play in Vegas tonight”.
Haitin also stressed MGM’s ability to “present their own product to players” to “get that magic from Vegas” through Playtech’s production, as “often operator’s products can lose the real character of the brand”.
Job creation was also an important aspect of the collaboration, as Haitin explained that while Playtech usually uses its own staff for live casino content, “jobs are being opened up in Vegas” through the launch of MGM Live and they’re “discovering new stars”.
The CEO stated that “winds of change” have occurred with this deal, as the collaboration has launched titles in Mexico with Caliente and the UK with bet365 already, meaning that what happens in Vegas, no longer stays in Vegas.
MGM Live content will utilise the operator’s “timeless classic assets” in Vegas, with live dealer content set to be broadcast in front of Bellagio’s famous fountains.
Both Haitin and Stuart highlighted the importance of content being “safe and responsible”, with the MGM SVP stressing the need to take each step of expansion “with all the due diligence”.
Despite being broadcasted from a US location, MGM Live will only be available to US customers based in Nevada due to US regulations.
However, should the possibility to spread this content across the US come around, Stuart stated that MGM “would love to be able to give these streams to other states”.
Before the panel drew to a close, Stuart highlighted some of the feedback the collaboration has received since launching MGM Live out of Vegas.
Haitin referred to customers within the casinos noticing that certain tables are being broadcasted, causing them to engage more with said tables, enhancing experiences for land-based and online players simultaneously. “I’m very excited with what we’ve been able to bring to players,” he said.
One title also utilised Bellagio’s one-zero roulette table, which Stuart suggested sees a lot of activity on the casino floor. As live casino players can witness this activity for themselves, Stuart stated that “people feel like they’re playing in Vegas with high rollers”.
The discussion ended with a sneak preview of the collaboration’s latest initiative, launching a Family Feud live casino product streamed from Vegas that utilises branding from the popular US game show.
bet365 has grown its US partnership with Playtech, expanding into an additional state.
Playtech will now provide its content offering to bet365 in the state of Pennsylvania, alongside the current deal between the operator and supplier in New Jersey.
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Playtech into Pennsylvania,” commented a bet365 spokesperson.
“Our collaboration has consistently delivered innovative and exciting gaming experiences for our players. We look forward to developing upon our already solid partnership as we continue to grow our offering and achieve new milestones together in the US market.”
The collaboration between Playtech and bet365 goes well beyond the US, as last month, the supplier and operator collaborated in Spain, launching a tailored Super Spin Roulette game – Ruleta Súper Spin – in the country’s online casino market.
Back in April, the two parties also joined forces to launch Super Mega Ultra, a live casino game show title derived from the operator’s established slot of the same name.
Elsewhere in the US, Playtech has recently agreed to a multi-year partnership with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which aims to utilise technology to create a more sustainable gambling environment.
Kevin Kilminster, Chief Product Innovation Officer at Playtech Live, added: “We are excited to extend this partnership into another US state, continuing to support bet365 with solutions to support their strategic objective by creating new and engaging content for their customers.
“Together, we have developed many innovative solutions, dedicated environments and bespoke games across many markets, and we look forward to further strengthening our successful partnership with this world-class operator.”
Last week at SBC Summit, Playtech took part in a press conference alongside MGM Resorts International to discuss their collaboration for MGM Live, an array of live casino products broadcasted directly from MGM’s world-famous Las Vegas establishments.
