Station Casinos quietly launches marketing effort for mobile betting

Station Casinos LLC has quietly launched a marketing campaign for its new Sports Connection Mobile betting application, several weeks ahead of its widespread release online and through the company’s 17 casinos in Southern Nevada.

“We are in field trials now and anticipate a substantial public launch upon completion of testing by the Nevada Gaming Control Board,” Station Casinos spokeswoman Lori Nelson said Tuesday.

The direct mail advertisement to Boarding Pass club members only offers up to $100 in free play when customers sign up at one of the company’s 17 sports books. Other features include betting parlays, straight bets, teasers, and props with minimum bets of $5.

“We’ll give you 10 percent of your total wagers, up to $50, in bonus cash,” according to the mailer. “Refer a buddy and you’ll get another 10 percent, for a total of up to $50.”

Last month, Marc Falcone, executive vice president and chief financial officer, told analysts during a conference call the gaming company will release its mobile sports wagering app by Oct. 31.

Falcone said customers will be able to wager on sports anywhere in Nevada. The system will notify a customer that they are “not in a legal jurisdiction to wager,” if they try to place a bet on their smart phone or tablet in California, Utah or any state other than Nevada, according to the company.

As of Tuesday, the app will be launched for iPhones and tablets and phones with the Android operating system. The company expects the betting app to be available for the iPad and in a future phase of development, Blackberry products.

To entice additional customers, Sports Connection Mobile gamblers who are Sprint customers will receive 10 percent off their monthly bill. In the ad’s fine print, Station Casinos said Sports Connection Boarding Pass members will get the discount when they show a Sprint representative their player’s club card and mention a discount code.

If its application is approved by regulators, Station Casinos will be the third gaming company to offer sports wagering apps, joining William Hill U.S. and Cantor Gaming.

American Wagering Inc., which owned Leroy’s Horse and Sports Place, was the first bookmaker to introduce a mobile wagering app in September 2010 for the Blackberry, which was followed in April 2011 with Android phone and tablet applications.

The Leroy’s app was recently relaunched as the William Hill betting app in Nevada. The British bookmaker acquired the betting application along with 159 sports books and kiosks when it purchased American Wagering and two other companies.

William Hill spent $55 million to acquire American Wagering, Brandywine Bookmaking LLC and Club Cal Neva in Northern Nevada.

Cantor Gaming, which operates seven sports books in Las Vegas, offers a sports wagering application for Android devices.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.