(WBEN) - The ribbon was cut Friday morning for Seneca Casinos' first sport betting lounge, so it's 'game betting on' and there's a lot to know before you bet on your favorite team. Get in the Game at the Sports Lounge. The Sports Lounge at Seneca Niagara is the place to watch the action and place your wagers. Take in the games and matches on big-screen TVs, place your bets, and order a nosh all in one place—the Sports Lounge at Seneca Niagara.
Three more New York sportsbooks will be up and running before the end of the year, thanks to a new deal announced Tuesday morning involving the Seneca Gaming Corporation, Kambi Group and Bragg Gaming Group.
That will bring a total of 11 upstate sportsbooks that will eventually be available in New York, although online betting is still not authorized there.
Where are the new NY sportsbooks?
The sportsbooks will be installed at:
- Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino
- Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in Buffalo
- Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in Salamanca
All three will feature Kambi’s kiosks for wagering.
No timeline was given for the sportsbooks other than it would happen “imminently” and subject to regulatory approval.
Seneca recently became the “official casino” of the Buffalo Bills, a move that certainly signaled Seneca’s interest in sports betting.
More on the NY sports betting deal
Under current law, New York’s four commercial casinos were allowed to start sports betting once the federal ban fell in 2018. That meant that the state’s tribal casinos could also start offering wagering as their compacts allow them to do anything that is authorized under state law.
- Seneca obviously provides the casinos where the sportsbooks will reside — three of them.
- Kambi will supply sports betting technology and trading management for the sportsbooks.
- Bragg will provide its ORYX Gaming platform for the sportsbook, including casino and player account management.
Seneca Allegany Casino
The deal will allow the Seneca to move into NY online betting, should the state legalize it.
In a related deal, Bragg and Kambi will explore other avenues for expansion in the US market and beyond.
“The agreement with Seneca and Kambi is a game-changer for Bragg,” said Dominic Mansour, Bragg’s CEO. “The U.S. casino and sports betting market is rapidly expanding, and ORYX’s expertise in (player account management), casino, marketing and operations services, and integrations between land-based and online, positions us well to take advantage of this growth. Entering the market with two such strong partners as Kambi and Seneca is an ideal scenario.”
Ifrah Law and Oakvale Capital conducted the request for proposals for Seneca.
“It was a pleasure and honor to work next to the amazing leadership at Seneca Gaming, a casino I grew up with in Buffalo, NY, and the official casino of my Buffalo Bills,” Ifrah Law founder Jeff Ifrah said of the deal. “Seneca is primed for continued growth at all of their Western NY locations.”
Gaming regulators officially allowed sports gambling in New York in June and over the course of this summer, casinos have been opening their sports facilities.
'I think its time has come in New York,' state Senator Pat Gallivan, R-Elma, said. 'Constituents that I speak with are very supportive of it and no doubt I think people will partake.'
This week, Resorts World Catskills in Monticello will become the last of four commercially licensed upstate casinos to open a sportsbook — just in time for the NFL season. The Oneida Indian Nation is also opening what it says is the state's largest facility Wednesday in Chittenango.
Yet, in Western New York things have been quiet.
'No doubt in my mind that we'll see (the Seneca Nation's) entry into it in the not too distant future but I don't have any firsthand knowledge but they’re business people and they're looking into something that could bring in revenues to their casinos,” said Gallivan.
The Oneidas and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe are already operating sports betting in some of their casinos but the Seneca Nation is not.
“We are making some exciting progress on our sports wagering operations in Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Salamanca,' Seneca Gaming Corp. spokesperson Phil Pantano said. 'We will share details about what our patrons can expect as soon as they are finalized.'
Perhaps a telling sign, the Buffalo Bills announced last week a new partnership with Seneca Resorts and Casinos. They will be the official casinos of the team this year.
Seneca Niagara Casino Sports Betting
'If they don't start before the season starts, they'll miss some of the potential revenues but once it starts I think fans are hungry, fans will be happy and it won't matter that it wasn't done in the past,' Gallivan said.
Seneca Niagara Casino Byob
Sports gambling appears to be a lucrative new business with reports neighboring New Jersey is poised to pass Nevada for the most money wagered in the country. However unlike New Jersey, New York does not allow online gaming.