As the gaming industry continues to evolve, so do the industry players, corporations, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

The only constant among this group is that change thrives in this environment.

While some of the players may still look the same since before the pandemic, the hats they wear can vary, as seen with such a high volume of mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate activities over the years. Even through the pandemic, there was no stopping these continued efforts as companies either were slowed by the initial Great Shutdown or sought new opportunities to move forward.

In 2021 alone, the industry has seen a sampling of this activity including the sale of the Palms in Las Vegas by Red Rock Resorts to the San Manuel Tribe; the sale of the Venetian, Palazzo, and Sands Expo by Las Vegas Sands Corp. to Apollo; the acquisition of William Hill by Caesars Entertainment that triggered the sale of the William Hill non-U.S. assets; and the spinoff of the Wynn Interactive division of Wynn Resorts into a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with William Foley’s Austerlitz Acquisition Company. This also includes other acquisitions in the sports betting space, as affiliates such as Better Collective completed its acquisition of the Action Network.

While some of these seem like major moves, it is similar to many transactions in the past such as the merger years ago between MGM and Mirage, and the subsequent merger with Mandalay Resort Group (Circus Circus Enterprises) through land-based M&A.

In the supplier world, major players such as Scientific Games had over the years acquired Don Best, NYX Gaming Group, Bally Technologies (which had previously acquired SHFL Entertainment), and WMS. The gaming industry has seen continual change through mergers and acquisitions as it has continued to grow and evolve. It is one of the more dynamic industries that allows this to occur because of its adaptability in the marketplace.

As the U.S., and frankly the rest of the world, looks at sports betting and online gaming as an expansion opportunity, this provides the space where operators, suppliers, media companies and other stakeholders are all looking for a piece of the activity. The sectors are starting to blend together as more and more outside companies see the opportunity to play a part in the gaming industry. It also allows existing players the opportunities to blend operations between platforms, land-based operations, and other key assets.

Some of the more recent examples include the combination of the Stars Group and FanDuel under the Flutter Entertainment umbrella, the previously mentioned acquisition of SBTech by DraftKings, and the most recent acquisition of William Hill by Caesars Entertainment. This also has allowed companies like Wynn Resorts that previously had not had a strong presence in the sports betting and online gaming space to place a stake in the ground with its initial acquisition of Bet Bull as a platform as it sought expansion across the United States. This was further exemplified as it spun off its newly formed interactive division into a SPAC with Bill Foley to further allow expansion beyond the borders of the United States.