Many are wondering what Ocean Casino Resort will do with its sportsbook now that rival Caesars Entertainment took over William Hill.
Ocean cannot reasonably be expected to go along with the national rebranding of William Hill as Caesars Sportsbook. So a new sportsbook operator will be taking over retail and online betting for Ocean.
But who and when are questions that, so far, have not been answered.
A spokesperson for Ocean said the casino had no comment at this time. And the Atlantic City casino has not filed a petition for a new sportsbook operator with New Jersey gaming regulators.
Sportsbook front and center at Ocean
Ocean Casino Resort was the first Atlantic City casino to have a genuine retail sportsbook. The former owner of Ocean secured a long-term agreement with one of Europe’s most recognizable sports betting brands.
When the property formally known as Revel reopened in June 2018, the William Hill Sportsbook debuted at the center of the casino floor.
William Hill also partnered with Monmouth Park Racetrack and took the first legal sports wager in NJ history.
Not long after, William Hill and Caesars Entertainment agreed to terms. William Hill became the sportsbook operator for all three of Caesars’ Atlantic City casinos.
Earlier this year, Caesars bought William Hill’s US operations. The country’s largest gaming operator then rebranded nearly all retail shops and online/mobile books as Caesars Sportsbook.
The book at Monmouth Park is undergoing a massive overhaul.
Ocean Casino has a unique opportunity with sportsbook
However, not much has changed at Ocean.
The William Hill brand and name are still visible on the property. That is much less of an issue than having a Caesars-branded sportsbook in the middle of the casino.
And so the question remains: who will Ocean bring in to run its sportsbook?
Remember, Luxor Capital Group, the current owners of Ocean, are not traditional gaming operators. Luxor is a Wall Street hedge fund.
Some of the more prominent names in sports betting are off the board, too. DraftKings has a book at Resorts Casino Hotel. FanDuel, meanwhile, just opened a brand new sportsbook at Bally’s Atlantic City.
