Las Vegas Sands Invests in Betting Technology Firm Huddle Tech

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) is wading into the fast-growing online gaming market with an investment in gaming technology provider and software developer Huddle Tech.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Huddle Tech is a newly formed company resulting from the recent marriage of Huddle Gaming and Las Vegas-based Deck Prism Sports. Founded in 2019, Deck Prism is a pioneer for in-play markets for the NFL, NCAA football, NBA, NCAA basketball, MLB, and the NHL.

Before the merger, Huddle focused on providing odds and risk management and trading solutions to iGaming operators.

Huddle can now both better serve existing clients and expand its offering into a full suite of best-in-class products that will help iGaming operators move into the future of odds-making and managed trading services,” according to a statement issued by Las Vegas Sands.

Huddle Tech has offices in Croatia, London, and New York.

The late Sheldon Adelson served as Sands s chairman and chief executive officer until his passing in January 2021. During his tenure, he was opposed to iGaming and seemingly ambivalent toward sports betting. As such, the company was on the sidelines for the initial boom in those industries.

Sands is gradually altering that course, dedicated to digital gaming in June 2021. The Las Vegas-based company said at the time it’s aiming to be a “strategic investor” in digital gaming on the side of the industry.

Since then, LVS has been somewhat active on the digital gaming investment front. In April, the company — a data analytics and technology provider used to identify unscrupulous betting behavior, including match-fixing and other forms of game manipulation.

Last month, the integrated resort operator-led a $6.3 million funding round in German esports data provider Bayes Esports. BITKRAFT Ventures was also involved in that round of capital raising.

It remains to be seen how Sands will proceed in the world of digital gaming, but the casino giant appears to be setting a pragmatic precedent, opting to nibble at companies via modest investments rather than through outright acquisitions.

Speaking of acquisitions, Las Vegas Sands is for a variety of companies with internet casino and online sportsbook exposure. But the operator has yet to announce a takeover in those industries.

But this move may not materialize over the near term, as LVS directs capital to enhancing its five Macau integrated resorts and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.