Caesars Sells WSOP Intellectual Property Rights To NSUS

Caesars Entertainment has had to make some tough decisions recently. The company is changing its focus to branding for online and physical gaming products. They sold the intellectual property rights for the World Series of Poker (WSPO) to NSUS, a company that has been collaborating with WSOP for years. Caesars will license the branding back to NSUS and will hold the WSOP in-person events at its brick-and-mortar casinos. Additionally, WSOP.com will continue to operate in New Jersey, Nevada, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. 

The company received $250 million upfront for the rights to WSOP and they’re expected to use some of it to make other changes. Caesars announced in June that they agreed to buy the Michigan operations from Wynn Interactive. This gives Caesars another chance to Michigan online casino play. They will be debuting their new brand, Horseshoe Online Casinoi, in the third quarter of 2024. That will complement the Caesars Palace online casino that already exists in Michigan.

Caesars has the blueprint for online casino games

Back in 2013, Caesars launched a Harrah’s branded platform. That made them one of the first online casino apps in New Jersey. To this say, NJ is the only place where Harrah’s online casino is available. Caesars Palace online casino opened for operation in August 2023. It’s available in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In all of those states, Caesars online casino has the highest market share, Caesars already owns the brands and they do not have to share any revenue with another party. Additionally, online casinos are a natural marketing tool for the physical casinos they share branding. 

They plan to use Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, and Tropicana as marketing tools instead of throwing significant resources into unknown territory. Caesars will use the data to help point customers in the right direction. The biggest competition for most US sportsbooks are DraftKings and FanDuel. One thing Caesars has that DraftKings and FanDuel don’t is reward credits that can be used for free play or benefits at brick-and-mortar casinos. The company is ready to launch the Horseshoe online casino in several states when they’re able to do so.