Hall of Famer Joe Asher couldn’t sit on the sidelines for long. He wanted to get back into the game. And now he’s taking on his newest challenge of elevating International Game Technology to an even higher level in the sports betting industry.
As IGT’s new President of Sports Betting, Asher will lead the ongoing expansion of the IGT PlaySports sports betting business in North American markets and is reporting to Enrico Drago, IGT’s CEO of Digital & Betting. The PlaySports sports betting solution already powers more than 50 U.S. sportsbooks for 20-plus customers across 19 states, plus contracts with operators in many more.
Asher comes to IGT after serving as CEO of William Hill US until Caesars Entertainment completed its acquisition of the company in April. Asher joined William Hill when it acquired Brandywine Bookmaking, a company he created as a start-up in 2008.
Asher got to know Drago when IGT and William Hill partnered on Rhode Island sports betting several years ago. When Asher left William Hill, Drago reached out and talked about having Asher contribute to IGT in the future, possibly as a consultant in the sports betting business. It wasn’t until Asher returned to Las Vegas in mid-August after a summer in California that he was ready to get back into the game full time.
“It was literally on the first day of school and it got quiet in the house, and I needed to figure out what I was going to do,” he said. “Enrico was in touch when I got back into town, and we spent more time talking. I was learning about the business and getting up to speed on it. What had been a consulting thing had morphed into a full-time job and eventually I started October 1st.”
Asher said his role is to lead the existing PlaySports business and look for ways to expand it and create shareholder value. In September, IGT announced it has established a dedicated Digital & Betting business segment comprising igaming and sports betting activities that were previously part of the Global Gaming segment. IGT will now report results under three business segments, with Global Lottery being the third.
“It’s a great time for the sports betting business in the U.S.,” Asher said. “Right now, I’m still drinking from the fire hose and trying to get up to speed. There are some good existing customers and we’re figuring out ways to better serve them and grow the core. There are approximately 175 people in the PlaySports business, and so I’m getting up to speed on the talent and folks who are here and figuring out how to further supplement it and put the foundation in place to further grow it.”
IGT is FanDuel’s exclusive retail platform provider across the U.S. In Nevada, IGT helps run Boyd Gaming and Resorts World’s sportsbooks. With Boyd, it’s providing the hardware and software platform. With Resorts World, it’s providing both the technology and some trading services, which means providing the lines and betting options and helping them manage the risk.
“If somebody wants to operate a sportsbook in the U.S., you have basically two options,” Asher said. “You can invest the money in building your own tech platform, but the cost of doing that is so great that it only really makes sense for the biggest of operators. Even then, it’s pretty rare to get true 100% ownership of your own tech. It’s an incredibly expensive endeavor not only up front but you have to continue to invest substantial sums of money going forward.”
For everybody else, Asher contends that if you want to get in the sports betting business and you’re not going to partner with an existing operator, it means you are looking for a third-party technology platform provider like IGT. With sports betting expansion across the country for both commercial and tribal casinos, there are growing opportunities for providing the technology platform and outsourced trading services, he said.
“There was already a team of bookmakers based here in Las Vegas, and I’m looking to further build out that team as we look to grow the business,” explained Asher. “It just so happens that the fellow who was the head of bookmaking at Brandywine before I sold that business to William Hill, a fellow named Tony DiTommaso, has recently joined IGT. So he and I are working together again. It’s getting the band back together again.”
As for what helps IGT stand out amongst the competition, it’s the modular platform that allows for easy third-party integration, Asher said. So there are already integrations with third party data and payment providers and geolocation services.
IGT also recently rolled out its CrystalBetting Terminal with multi-game content. CrystalFlex delivers a combined betting and gaming experience.
The private carrol gives players a space to place pre-game and in-game sports wagers, watch multiple live sporting events simultaneously, and enjoy the Game King X content bundle, which includes player-preferred slots, keno and video poker games, on a single gaming machine and with the same funds. The solution is equipped with a headphone jack and mobile device charging port.
“I am a big believer in IGT’s bar top solution,” Asher said. “I think the ability to bet on sports and watch sports but also play the other games on the bar top is something that is going to be a big commercial success. For years, I have been talking about integrating sports betting with those machines, long before I went to work for IGT. When Enrico and [CEO of Global Gaming Renato Ascoli] first showed me the CrystalFlex terminals, I said ‘That’s great, but I would really love to see it in a bar top.’ The product looks terrific and something I look forward to seeing rolled out. For someone to be sitting at the bar and watching the game on TV or watching it on the big screen and playing video poker, that type of experience is something customers are going to want.”
Asher believes that given the proliferation of mobile sports betting and retail sports betting, it has to be about an experience. He recently went to Chickie’s & Pete’s, a high-end sports bar restaurant inside a sportsbook located at the Sahara Las Vegas.
“The sportsbook in the future is about a social experience,” he said. “You have seen that in what William Hill did at the Capital One Arena. It is not only a great sportsbook but has terrific food. That’s where the future of the retail experience lies.”
IGT is well-positioned because it starts with a foundation of having existing relationships with every casino in the country, Asher said. And that future for growth is enhancing technology options for customers, he added.
Asher expects to see an increase in video streaming on mobile with an overlay of betting options on the video. He said he sees mobile as being more personalized in the future where the moment someone logs onto the app, artificial intelligence shows the betting options that you typically seek out. I like to bet the under in the Golden Knights games, so one day I will see that as the first thing on my screen when I log in on game day.
“It uses AI to figure out what will be interesting to me as a customer and a whole bunch of other things,” Asher explained. “There’s such a room for innovation in this space. I have been saying for a number of years that it is a great time for entrepreneurs in this space to come up with their idea and figure out how to commercialize it.”
