Platform to power Coushatta wagering offering

London-based International Game Technology (IGT) has announced that its PlaySports platform will power sports betting at the Coushatta Casino Resort in Southwestern Louisiana.

According to an official IGT news release on July 1, the deal with the tribal casino in the city of Kinder includes the PlaySports turnkey solution and the firm’s trading advisory services.

one of the first casinos in Louisiana to secure a sports betting agreement”

Chairman of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Jonathan Cernek, said the tribe-owned-and-operated casino was excited to be “one of the first casinos in Louisiana to secure a sports betting agreement.”

Baton Rouge-based The Advocate reported that the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) will start “promulgating regulations and vetting applications” for sports wagering on July 1. The board will oversee the regulation of sports wagering and also hand out licenses to operators in the state.

Casino primed to be quick out the blocks

Talking up the July 1 deal with IGT, the Coushatta chairman highlighted how the platform and products will enable the tribe’s casino to “quickly and easily deploy an exceptional localized sports betting program.”

Cernek added that IGT’s “reliable sports betting solution” will see the casino provide its clientele with “new types of gaming experiences.”

Sports betting legislation in Louisiana went into effect on July 1. Pending the approval of rules and handing out of licenses, it’s hoped that the market will go live by the start of the upcoming National Football League season.

The Coushatta Casino Resort is just one of many Louisiana casinos getting primed for sports betting. According to Christopher Herbert, Director of the Gaming Division at the Attorney General’s Office, the LGCB still has to first consider and approve emergency rules.

Louisiana deal a milestone for IGT

IGT PlayDigital senior VP Enrico Drago said the deal with the Coushatta, Louisiana’s largest casino resort, represented “another significant milestone for IGT” in its US sports betting expansion. He added that his firm was looking forward to helping the Kinder casino to “establish a best-in-class sports betting program.”

IGT was also in the news in May, when state officials in Rhode Island revealed an updated contract that would give it and Bally’s Corporation a monopoly over the state’s gambling industry for the next two decades.