Hard Rock International Announces Online Sports Betting Joint Venture: Hard Rock Digital

Hard Rock International has announced a joint venture called Hard Rock Digital to focus on online sports betting and gambling.

According to a press release, Hard Rock Digital will serve as the exclusive digital gaming and betting platform for Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming (SGA) around the world. Seminole Gaming purchased Hard Rock International for nearly $1 billion in 2006.

Hard Rock Digital Prepared for Large Expansion

Hard Rock International has not yet released many details but indicates the new project will command global reach. Together, Hard Rock International and SGA operate nearly 250 locations worldwide and boast a database of more than 130 million customers that Hard Rock Digital will leverage to build its digital footprint.

Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen provided a sense of scale in a statement included with this morning’s press release:

With the launch of Hard Rock Digital, we are broadening our digital business which enhances consumer experiences and offerings across our interactive gaming and sportsbook offerings. Hard Rock Digital also intends to pursue strategic branding and distribution opportunities both within the U.S. and globally.  In the U.S. alone, the potential future market size is estimated at $7 billion for sports betting and $14 billion for online gaming.

Hard Rock Digital has also launched a job board to fill a variety of roles for online sports platform engineers, Q&A, design, marketing, casino operations, and corporate operations.

As of this posting, Hard Rock Digital has openings in Austin, Atlantic City, and at its headquarters in Hollywood, Florida.

Experienced Online Poker and Gaming Executives on Board

Hard Rock Digital will be led by several notable names from online poker and gaming.

Rafi Ashkenazi, the former CEO of The Stars Group, will come on board as the Executive Managing Director and Executive Chair of Hard Rock Digital.

Marlon Goldstein, former The Stars Group Executive VP and Chief Legal Officer, and Matt Primeaux, former FOX Bet President, will also join as executive managing directors.

The trio brings a wealth of online gaming experience to the new venture, which will need all the help it can get as it enters a crowded and highly competitive market. As Hard Rock noted in its press release, the three industry veterans played instrumental roles in “the growth and transformation of several technology and interactive gaming businesses, including Playtech, The Stars Group, and FOX Bet.”

Hard Rock Casino to Expand Its Existing Sports Betting Operations

Hard Rock International operates casinos in multiple states, including five in states with legal sports betting. That number will soon expand to six once Hard Rock completes construction on a casino in Rockford, Illinois.

In two of those states, New Jersey and Iowa, Hard Rock operates a self-branded sports betting platform for customers within state lines. What impact the launch of Hard Rock Digital will have on those existing operations remains to be seen.

Hard Rock Online Sportsbook launched in early 2019 for New Jersey customers and later that year in Iowa. Hard Rock Sportsbook hasn’t expanded as rapidly as some of its competitors, but the launch of Hard Rock Digital with an experienced leadership team at the helm indicates a change in strategy.

Does This Have Implications for Florida Sports Betting Efforts?

The launch of Hard Rock Digital does not appear to be directly related to the Seminole Tribe’s ongoing negotiations with its home state regarding sports betting and casino gambling.

As the third most populous state, Florida is one of the country’s most promising untapped markets. But legalizing sports betting in Florida has proven more complicated than many had hoped.

As Steve Ruddock noted in a recent post, the Seminole Tribe holds one of the keys to legal sports betting in Florida. The tribe has a near-monopoly over gambling in Florida and stopped its roughly $350 million annual gambling payment to the state in 2019 over a long-running dispute over multiplayer card games operated by non-tribal card rooms.

To further complicate matters, the Seminole Tribe backed a successful 2018 referendum requiring a statewide vote on all future gambling expansion measures except those involving tribal casinos and the state lottery.

Although some have made the case that sports betting does not constitute a gambling expansion under state law, the referendum did not make it any easier to legalize sports betting without first going through the tribe.

Hard Rock Digital will ensure the Seminole Tribe will be ready to act quickly if it reaches a deal with the state for sports betting, but there are no indications at this time that it’s a sign of imminent change in Florida beyond ongoing discussions.