Merging two companies is always complicated, especially when the two companies are literal behemoths in the industry. Such is Eldorado and Caesars’s case, two very prominent gambling operators who started the merging process a while ago.
In order to succeed, the two companies needed official approval from the gambling commission of every state where they have a presence. Although many states already permitted the merger, the two most important ones — Nevada and New Jersey — were a tough nut to crack.
The entire process was slowed down due to the coronavirus outbreak, but that seems to be changing now, as the Nevada regulator has decided to approve the merger. Therefore, only two states wait to make their move — New Jersey and Indiana.
Eldorado released an official announcement, confirming that the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission approved the merger approval. This was no surprise, as everyone expected that the regulators in Nevada would present no obstacles along the way.
The only commission that many expected would present hurdles on the road to merging was the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). However, it approved the merger last month, and everything is expected to go smoothly from now on.
New Jersey to Approve the Merger in July?
The regulators of New Jersey are meeting on July 15 in order to determine their position regarding the Caesars and Eldorado merger. Similar to Nevada, the two companies don’t expect New Jersey to present any obstacles.
However, the only state that may cause an issue for Caesars and Eldorado is Indiana. The regulators in the Hoosier State already put up some resistance to the idea.
Indiana Has Its Doubts
One reason is that the regulators don’t like the fact that the state lacks horseracing events, even though Eldorado runs tracks in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission stated that they were unable to give “an enthusiastic or unqualified recommendation.” They were unsure whether Eldorado would remain committed to running horse racing in Hoosier Park or Indiana Grand if this activity were affected by an “economic downturn” or fail to reach “expected revenues following the table game build-out.”
The Indiana regulators have the right to be worried as Eldorado already made the decision to unload some properties, and Hoosier Part and Indiana Grand are on the list. In fact, the operator already wants to sell the properties to real estate investment trust (REIT) VICI Properties. This deal is still not over, but Eldorado expects it to go through anytime soon.
The commission in Indiana is not at all happy with this move, and they made it very clear that they don’t want REIT to take over. On the other hand, the regulators in Indiana have nothing to gain if they stand in the way of the merger, so the two companies don’t expect much resistance there either.
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