Montana Lottery to accept bets through sports betting app

Geolocation solutions provider GeoComply has announced that the Montana Lottery, in association with Intralot, has begun accepting bets through its Sports Bet Montana app throughout the state.

Powered by PinPoint, GeoComply’s on-premise geolocation compliance solution, the initial rollout is set to include up to 145 establishments in the state, with an expected 2,000 licenced premises going live by the end of the year.

PinPoint grants players access to use the Sports Bet Montana app on their personal mobile devices to place sports bets while they are in GeoComply establishments only, thus remaining compliant with state and federal laws. 

Randy Halischuk, Head of Marketing, GeoComply stated: “This [launch] is important because of the way sports betting is being rolled out in Montana. The initial rollout will include up to 145 taverns in the state, with an expected 2,000 licenced premises going live in 2020. 

“PinPoint enables players to use the Sports Bet Montana app on their personal mobile devices to place sports bets while they are on the tavern premise only, while remaining compliant with state and federal laws. State-wide online sports betting is not allowed under current legislation.

“Montana sports betting legislation only allows for bets to be placed from within the physical space of a licensed facility, so by utilizing PinPoint for geolocation compliance, players are able use their own mobile device and an App to place bets. This is really important for features such as in-play betting.

“To make it work, PinPoint utilizes our specially-designed Bluetooth beacons, installed inside the facility, along with our industry-standard geolocation compliance software to ensure that players are on-premise.” 

Designed specifically for the igaming industry’s unique requirements, PinPoint combines specifically designed Bluetooth beacons with GeoComply’s robust geolocation technology to offer real-time location compliance, anti-spoofing and anti-fraud benefits.

In addition to this, PinPoint also provides a number of benefits such as an ability to improve player experience through the elimination of waiting in line as well as its ability to provide important player data via the Back Office to enable tailored offerings.

Sam Basile, GeoComply’s General Manager for PinPoint concluded: “PinPoint is an innovative solution that essentially turns the entire tavern property into a sportsbook and provides an exciting new element to the tavern experience. 

“Tavern owners will now have the ability to really leverage the exciting nature of interactive, App-based sports betting to create some interesting new promotional opportunities for their business. We’d also like to congratulate our partners, the Montana Lottery and Intralot, for working together with us so professionally and seamlessly in order to launch sports betting in Montana.”