MGM Mirage has chosen WagerWorks and Orbis to provide the casino and sports book software for its online gambling venture, the company said Wednesday.
The Las Vegas-based casino giant also announced it is discontinuing its U.S.-based prize gaming site on May 1 so it can concentrate on entering the international online gambling market. WagerWorks had provided the software for the prize gaming site as well.
"They are winding it down relative to its current form," said Paul Miltenberger, CFO of WagerWorks, "and then ultimately when they launch their new site there will be a play-for-free aspect to that site as well."
Bill Hornbuckle, president and COO of MGM Mirage Online, said the popularity of MGM Mirage's prize gaming site is due to WagerWorks' "unparalleled content suite."
"Their proven record of delivering reliable and innovative technology solutions for online gaming, coupled with their team's 50-plus years of collective experience in the fully regulated gaming industry, makes WagerWorks and Orbis the ideal partners to help us establish our international online gaming presence," he said.
Miltenberger said the new site will not simply be a revamped version of MGM's present play-for-fun site.
"Technically it's going to be a new site," he said. "The current site is operated from the United States; the new site will not be. It's a separate system, so a lot of the content that you see on the site today, some of the games and obviously the MGM brands will be familiar to players, but technically it's a separate site."
WagerWorks' online gaming system, WagerWare, was recently integrated with Orbis' OpenBet sports betting technology. While this is WagerWorks' first deal to provide the software for a gambling site, its CEO said the company has more deals like the one with MGM in the works.
"Our relationship with MGM Mirage is the first in a series of upcoming announcements that will showcase how WagerWorks' technology can help established brands leverage the Internet to expand their business operations," WagerWorks President and CEO Andrew Pascal said.
The gaming site will be operated from MGM Mirage's Isle of Man Internet gambling license, which it received in September. There is no launch date planned, although Miltenberger said the site will probably debut sometime this year.