iGaming Business – Pool and sportsbetting operator Sportech has signed an agreement with the Southern California Off Track Wagering horseracing governing body for a licence to allow it to operate in up to 10 retail venues in California.
Under the licence, Sportech will also be able to offer customers the ability to bet on horseracing in a high-end sports bar and restaurant facility.
The deal will enable Sportech to expand its Connecticut-based sportsbetting business to California, a US state in which there are currently just 36 locations where punters can place a horseracing bet.
Sportech will open the first new venue at a location in Norco, Riverside Country, Southern California.
The proposed new 10,000sq ft Norco facility is scheduled to open in the summer of 2014, combining betting technology with food and beverage retail operations.
The location will be developed under a joint venture between Sportech and food and beverage operator the Silky Sullivan Group. Construction costs and profits generated will be shared equally.
Sportech and Southern California Off Track Wagering have already partnered to open five locations in Southern and Central California, where Sportech provides betting technology and services to customers of the party sports bars in order for them to place bets.
“We have worked closely with the horseracing and licensing authorities in California for a number of years, and I am pleased that we have reached this important milestone,” Sportech’s chief executive officer Ian Penrose said.
Jack Liebau, Southern California Off Track Wagering’s chairman, added: “We are pleased to be working with Sportech to create these new first class facilities in order to showcase the great sport of horse racing and to attract new customers.”
