Milbank LLP advised leading casino entertainment company Eldorado Resorts, Inc. in connection with its definitive agreement for betting and gaming company William Hill PLC to act as Eldorado’s exclusive sports betting operator for a period of 25 years.
The agreement, which extends to all Eldorado properties in jurisdictions where sports betting is legal, will provide Eldorado with a $50 million equity stake in William Hill PLC and 20% of William Hill US at the closing of the transactions. Eldorado’s 20% stake in William Hill US will include existing William Hill US businesses in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, West Virginia, the Bahamas and St. Kitts, as well as future Eldorado and non-Eldorado US businesses.
Eldorado’s agreement with William Hill PLC follows the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which had previously limited sports betting to Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana.
The Milbank team was led by Corporate partners Deborah Conrad and Stuart Harray with associates Mark Castiglia, Sarah Ullathorne and James Mackay; Technology and Outsourcing partner Nicholas Smith; Intellectual Property special counsel Nathaniel Browand; Antitrust partner Fiona Schaeffer; Tax partner Russell Kestenbaum; and Real Estate associate Lisa Brabant.
