William Hill partners with NeoGames for proprietary US platform
Operator will utilize NeoGames tech for back-end player-management system to go with existing European front-end
William Hill has confirmed plans to launch a proprietary US sports betting platform in early 2019.
The London-listed bookmaker today announced the first component of that platform in the form of a four-year deal with NeoGames to supply the player account management (PAM) system.
The NeoGames PAM currently powers over 80 egaming brands, including the largest online gaming operation in the US, the Michigan State Lottery.
The two parties started work on a bespoke PAM solution for William Hill US in June 2018, and have signed a long term agreement now the project is “gaining momentum”.
Under the terms of the agreement, NeoGames is providing William Hill with a dedicated team, 100% control of the roadmap, and exclusivity over features developed for William Hill.
Hills also has the option to buy a permanent license to the source code and transfer in its dedicated teams.
The deal extends the existing relationship between the two firms after Hills bought a 29.4% stake in NeoGames for $25m back in 2015.
The bookmaker said the deal was the first announcement on the development of its new proprietary platform for the US, which is earmarked for launch in 2019.
The front-end of the platform will come from the European ‘Trafalgar’ platform, but Hills CEO Philip Bowcock said the operator had chosen NeoGames for the back-end because the deal offered “extensive control over development, product and team, but with faster time to market and reduced risk than building from scratch”.
Bowcock added: “This is another important step in our progress in the US. The NeoGames PAM is already more feature-rich than any other sports-betting platform live in the US. It is built according to modern technical standards, and is proven at scale in the US.”
The Hills app live in New Jersey utilizes its European front-end and the back-end from the Nevada betting business.
NeoGames CEO Moti Malul added: “We are already progressing well with developing a bespoke player account management system for [Hills], which will underpin their product differentiation and leading customer experience in the US in the future”.
William Hill is currently the only company to be taking bets in all US states where sports betting is legal and has provisional access to 15 states where sports betting is either legal or bills are tabled.