IGT, Optima extend partnership on sports betting

Dec 21, 2017 Newsdesk Industry Talk, Latest News  

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Casino and lottery equipment maker International Game Technology Plc has signed an agreement with Optima Group for “the licensing, support, and development of IGT’s sports betting platform in all international regions outside of Italy, the United States, and Canada”.

As part of the agreement, signed on December 15, IGT is licensing its sports betting platform to Optima, “enabling it to provide the day-to-day management of IGT’s existing sports betting relationships in international markets, and to be IGT’s preferred supplier for delivering sports betting solutions in these regions,” the casino and lottery equipment maker said in a press release on Tuesday.

Optima is a licensed business-to-business supplier of turnkey sports betting and gaming solutions. The firm is a partner of IGT since 2014, initially via Italy-based lottery equipment specialist GTech SpA.

IGT is the result of a US$6.4-billion debt-funded merger – completed in April 2015 – between International Game Technology, a Nevada-based supplier of slot machines, and GTech.

“With this new agreement, Optima will ensure that all IGT sports betting customers in the international market receive high-quality ongoing support, while benefitting from Optima’s ability to develop and enhance the IGT sports betting platform,” said Walter Bugno, IGT’s chief executive – international, in a statement included in the press release.

In a separate release also issued on Tuesday, IGT announced the retirement of Michael Chambrello as chief executive – North American lottery effective January 1. While the position remains unfilled, IGT CEO Marco Sala will directly manage the North America lottery business segment, the release said.

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