Sightline Payments is a Nevada gaming-adjacent company that now has a valuation of more than $1 billion. This week, Sightline received an additional $244 million investment from Cannae Holdings. Existing investors Genting Group, Point Break Capital Management, and original investor Walter Kortschak also contributed to reaching this valuation.
Sightline is technically a financial technology (fintech) company. Nevada residents may be familiar with the company since it works with just about every sportsbook operator in the state. What makes this remarkable is that Sightline is a company that many gamblers use but have never heard the name.
Sightline co-founder Omer Sattar says:
“Financial Services has historically not embraced the legal, regulated gaming industry, but thanks to the innovations Sightline has fostered in the market, gaming is clearly poised for an omni-channel cashless revolution.”
Sightline is a company that’s usually in the background of services gamblers use in Nevada and around the country.
Gambling is still “cash-centric”
In the past couple of years, many retail businesses have moved to mobile payments for convenience or because of health and safety as it relates to COVID-19. Gambling is still the exception. It’s one of the last retail industries that still revolves around cash.
The only people I know today who always carry cash are poker players and sports bettors. They never know when a bet will come or when the itch to play cards will occur. Companies like Sightline Payments look to make life easier for people to transition to gamble without using straight cash homey.
Satter also says, “Sightline has continuously risen to meet the changing needs of the casino gaming industry. As we strive to help lead the digital transformation of the patron experience in our vertical, we are humbled to become Nevada’s first FinTech unicorn.”
Sightline Payments was founded over a decade ago by Omer Sattar, Tom Sears, and Kirk Sanford to give consumers a way to safely and securely fund their online gaming experience. The company is living up to its promise.
Sightline in action
Sightline started in 2013 with New Jersey’s launch of online gaming. Today, Sightline is one of the industry innovation leaders by launching cashless gaming in brick-and-mortar casinos.
The company’s Play+ service is used in every Nevada sports betting apps. Sightline is also one of the many companies behind making Resorts World Las Vegas the first entirely cashless casino in the US. Of course, you can still use cash at the newest casino to open in Las Vegas but the cashless option is attractive to many who’d rather not fumble around with paper money.
Earlier this year Sightline acquired JOINGO. This is one of the gaming industry’s top mobile engagement and loyalty platforms. JOINGO helps power the main Resorts World Las Vegas loyalty app.
Sightline’s Play+ allows sports bettors to remotely fund the Resorts World sportsbook app once it’s established in person at the casino.
This summer, Sightline signed a partnership with Marker Trax. This deal will allow sportsbooks to offer a credit option within Sightline’s Play+ payment solution.
Sightline is providing solutions that make gambling easier for the consumer. In turn, this should lead to casinos and sportsbooks increasing revenue. The large valuation should allow Sightline to continue acquiring companies and creating new technology that benefits both gamblers and casino operators.