IGT And William Hill U.S. Form Strategic Partnership For U.S. Lotteries

LONDON, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IGT Global Solutions Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Game Technology PLC ("IGT") (NYSE:IGT) and William Hill U.S., a subsidiary of William Hill PLC (LON:WMH), today announced that they have entered into a multi-year agreement to offer U.S. lotteries a full service solution for sports betting. Together, the companies are able to offer U.S. lotteries a fully-managed solution to meet all their current and future needs in sports betting, both maximizing revenues to each state and ensuring a reliable, attractive, and innovative service for players.

This new partnership seeks to build upon the already successful pairing between the companies which resulted in IGT being awarded the contract to run sports betting for the Rhode Island Lottery together with William Hill. Under the terms of the partnership, the companies will jointly consider all future sports betting opportunities and bid requests from U.S. lotteries on a mutually exclusive basis. Commercial terms between the partners were not disclosed.

The combined offer to U.S. lotteries under the new agreement will comprise IGT's PlayShottm end-to-end sports betting platform for land-based, retail, online, and mobile with William Hill's operational, trading, player management, and strategic expertise in U.S. sports books. IGT's PlayShot sports betting platform is already live in four U.S. states as a dedicated B2B solution for sportsbook operators. William Hill operates sports books under its own or partner brands or provides risk management services in all five states where sports betting is active today.

"We are delighted to be partnering with William Hill, whose proven leadership and capability in U.S. sports betting operations will ensure that we are able to fully support our lottery customers as states start to regulate these products. Through this unique partnership, our customers will be able to enter this new activity with total confidence and trust in the service being offered," said Renato Ascoli, IGT CEO, North America. "IGT is uniquely positioned as a leader in both lottery and sports betting technologies to deliver innovative solutions that will expand the possibilities for players and for lotteries themselves in this exciting new market. By forming this partnership with William Hill, we are able to bring to our lottery customers in every state a world-class combination of technology and operational expertise."

"We are delighted to be expanding our relationship with IGT to address the U.S. lottery market together," said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill U.S. "William Hill's track record as an operator globally, and our clear leadership as a sports book operator in the U.S., in particular, mean that U.S. lotteries can be confident that in choosing IGT and us together, they will be benefiting from a reliable, trustworthy, and responsibly-managed solution ? maximizing revenues to each state with a quality product and service."

About IGT

IGT (NYSE:IGT) is the global leader in gaming. We enable players to experience their favorite games across all channels and regulated segments, from Gaming Machines and Lotteries to Digital and Social Gaming. Leveraging a wealth of premium content, substantial investment in innovation, in-depth customer intelligence, operational expertise and leading-edge technology, our gaming solutions anticipate the demands of consumers wherever they decide to play. We have a well-established local presence and relationships with governments and regulators in more than 100 countries around the world, and create value by adhering to the highest standards of service, integrity, and responsibility. IGT has over 12,000 employees.

About William Hill

William Hill PLC is one of the world's leading betting and gaming companies, employing over 15,000 people. Its origins are in the UK where it was founded in 1934, and where it is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The majority of its $2.1 billion annual revenues are still derived from the UK, where it has a national presence of licensed betting offices and one of the leading online betting and gaming services. In 2012, it established William Hill US with a focus on retail and mobile operations in Nevada, which is now the largest sports betting business in the USA. William Hill US currently operates 108 race and sports books in Nevada and the state's leading mobile sports betting app.  Following the ruling in May 2018 by the Supreme Court that the federal ban on state sponsored sports betting was unconstitutional, the company is planning to operate where permitted by law throughout America. William Hill US is already operating in New Jersey at Monmouth Park Racetrack and is the exclusive risk manager for the sports lottery in Delaware.  William Hill also has licensed operations in The Bahamas, Italy and Spain and serves online customers throughout the world from its Online headquarters in Gibraltar.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements (including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning International Game Technology PLC and its consolidated subsidiaries (the "Company") and other matters. These statements may discuss goals, intentions, and expectations as to future plans, trends, events, dividends, results of operations, or financial condition, or otherwise, based on current beliefs of the management of the Company as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, such management. Forward-looking statements may be accompanied by words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "could," "would," "should," "shall", "continue," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "guidance," "intend," "may," "will," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project" or the negative or other variations of them. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are made and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside the Company's control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those predicted in the forward-looking statements and from past results, performance, or achievements. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to) the factors and risks described in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the financial year ended December 31, 2017 and other documents filed from time to time with the SEC, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on the investor relations section of the Company's website at www.IGT.com. Except as required under applicable law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. You should carefully consider these factors and other risks and uncertainties that affect the Company's business. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to International Game Technology PLC, or persons acting on its behalf, are expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement.

IGT Contacts:
Robert K. Vincent, Corporate Communications, toll free in U.S./Canada +1 (844) IGT-7452; outside U.S./Canada +1 (401) 392-7452
James Hurley, Investor Relations, +1 (401) 392-7190
Simone Cantagallo, +39 06 51899030; for Italian media inquiries

William Hill Contact:
Michael Grodsky, Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations, (702) 378-7852

SOURCE IGT