When the 2022 EGR North America Awards were held this past April, only one company would be named Casino Operator of the Year. BetMGM was that company, cited for its “year of tremendous growth” and specifically credited for its world-class partnerships, game offerings, and features such as having the largest state-by-state in-house progressive jackpots in the nation.

With two real money online casino brands in Pennsylvania (BetMGM Casino and Borgata Casino), its in-state impact was even more magnified.

Having two brands in PA is helping BetMGM expand

Part of BetMGM’s national strategy includes the use of three brands: BetMGM Casino, Borgata Casino, and PartyCasino. 

Two of those three are live in Pennsylvania, and more importantly, each with a different land-based partnership:

Penn National and Rivers are also the two largest operators within the state, each with multiple online partnerships due to the fact that PA state law allows retail casinos to enter into as many agreements with iGaming operators as they wish. 

Of the two, Penn National is the largest, thanks to its other partnerships with DraftKings, Barstool, and PointsBet, in addition to its Hollywood and BetMGM affiliations. It is responsible for roughly 40% of all online casino revenue in Pennsylvania.

Rivers is second, holding affiliations with BetRivers and SugarHouse, on top of the BetMGM connection with Borgata. These three brands make up roughly 25% of the action in the state, meaning BetMGM’s two brick-and-mortar partnerships combined account for around 65% (or approximately two-thirds) of the Pennsylvania online casino market share.

Three things that put BetMGM over the top

PA Online Casino got in touch with BetMGM Vice President of Gaming, Matthew Sunderland, to discuss the company’s recent accolade. Sunderland stressed three main reasons for its success.

Impressive online jackpot slot offerings

According to Sunderland:

“A top reason for BetMGM’s success is our jackpot network, which is the largest exclusive state-by-state in-house progressive network of its kind in the US. Through our network, BetMGM players are consistently provided opportunities to win life-changing jackpots. In the past twelve months, we’ve paid out almost $50 million in prizes from our in-house games.”

BetMGM’s jackpots often offer six-figure payouts across numerous games, allowing players a wide variety of attractive jackpot games to choose from. Some games include MGM Grand Millions, Loot’en Khamun, Fruitblaster, All You Can Spin Sushi, and the ever-popular Bison Fury. The current jackpot for these games is just shy of $200,000.

Exclusive game titles

Sunderland added:

“Another differentiator is our exclusive game content, both in-house and third party, in what has become the industry’s largest overall games portfolio. We produce engaging games alongside MGM Resorts and Entain, and look to partner with the best third-party content providers to ensure their content is exclusive to BetMGM, as well.”

Sunderland also talked about BetMGM’s live dealer capabilities being second-to-none, thanks partly to its own private studios, which were built in partnership with Evolution.

Some unique offerings available at BetMGM include Mirage Mega Magma, Bellagio Fountains of Fortune, Melon Madness Deluxe, and Majestic Lions. The previously mentioned games of MGM Grand Millions, Bison Fury, and Loot’en Khamun are also proprietary offerings.

BetMGM also hosts unique table games, including BetMGM Blackjack Pro, Steelers Blackjack Pro, Premium Blackjack Pro, BetMGM Roulette Pro, and Steelers Roulette.

Teamwork

“Finally, and simply, we have the best team in the business,” said Sunderland.

He said that there is no substitute for hard work and that his team’s successes are a result of that. He also credited organizational strength and exemplary foresight and planning, stating that he got to work with some of the most intelligent people in the industry.

Furthermore, Sunderland said that planning went beyond the casino vertical, with company-wide efforts also taking place to expand its casino presence to its sports bettors and poker players.

Continuing to set the bar at BetMGM

Other criteria for Casino Operator of the Year include global reach and quality of product, which includes originality, strength of brand, and unique product offerings. 

Sunderland said in a press release after receiving the award:

“We spent the last year at BetMGM working to solidify our position at the top of the iGaming industry in North America. Our team is humbled to be recognized as the industry’s best and our success is a testament to our player-focused operational mindset.”

Adam Greenblatt, BetMGM CEO, also weighed in:

“With continued support from MGM Resorts and Entain, we are confident our casino product will continue setting the bar for years to come.”