It has been announced recently that MGM Resorts and Boyd will enter into a joint venture with a leading gambling company in the industry, Bwin.party. One of the top gaming sites, Bwin.party, will create gambling websites jointly with Boyd and MGM. Through the partnership, they plan to develop a company.The gambling platforms will be made available to American players, if online gambling is legalized in the country. Gambling products will be offered to US customers through the company, under the brand name of Bwin.party.

Bwin.party to Hold Majority of Shares

As per the agreement between MGM, Boyd and Bwin.party, the majority of shares of the joint venture will be owned by Bwin.party. It will hold 65% of the shares. On the other hand, MGM Resorts and Boyd will own 25% and 10% of shares respectively.

MGM Resorts and Boyd entered another long-term agreement with Bwin.party. It allows Boyd and MGM to operate their own gambling websites through Bwin.party's license that utilizes the gaming platforms and technology of the company.

Joint-venture Agreement Contingent upon Congress Legalizing Online Gambling

The joint venture agreement settled among the three companies is subject to the decision of Congress with regard to legalization of online gambling. Two bills with regard to this aspect have been already submitted to Congress. House-Senate "supercommittee", which has been assigned with the task of chalking out ways to meet the federal budget deficit is expected to take up the legalization proposal soon. Currently, there is a federal deficit of $1.2 trillion.

Gaming analyst of Deutsche Bank, Carlo Santarelli stated that the chance of online gambling getting legalized in the country within a year is 50%. If the legalization of online gambling becomes a reality, Bwin.party will have instant access to the American market by virtue of the partnership. As calculated by analysts, the US market is worth between $3 billion and $5 billion in a year. The Principal of the Union Gaming Group, Bill Lerner, stated that the gambling websites which the three companies plan to create will grab 20% of the market shares, if online gambling is legalized.

Jim Ryan States the Agreement to Be a Stepping Stone for Future Projects

The co-Chief Executive Officer of Bwin.party, Jim Ryan, stated that the partnership agreement is a foundation for the three companies to prepare their future projects. Players will be acquired by Boyd, Bwin.party and MGM under one platform in future. A Las Vegas based poker professional said in that this agreement will lead to Ryan becoming one of the most important professionals in the industry.

Boyd Gaming's CEO Speculates the Partnership will Grab a Significant Portion of Market Shares

Keith Smith, the CEO of Boyd Gaming, stated that the partnership deal allows the companies involved to operate a single, joint and an array of individual websites. This will lead to Boyd, MGM and Bwin.party capturing a significant portion of market shares. Smith also said that online gambling is all about liquidity and making games like online roulette available to players at a time when they want to play.