With the help of the Malta National Lottery, IGT and Churchill Downs are taking HHR international.
As part of the original agreement, IGT will supply IZIBINGO, the inaugural Malta National Lottery HHR location, with technology. The Exacta Connect system solution, developed by Exacta Services—a subsidiary of Churchill Downs—will provide electricity to the HHR gaming floor.
People can use HHR machines to bet on horse races that have previously happened. The content on these devices is from the early 1990s and has all the races erased, including the jockey's and horse's identities.
These games are reminiscent of classic slot machines, and you can even find slot features in a few of them.
After that, HHR will be powered by IGT and Exacta at other National Lottery venues in Malta as part of this deal. Up until recently, the United States was the exclusive market for IGT and CDI.
More than eighty IGT HHR games will be available to National Lottery players. Cleopatra Gold, Wolf Run Gold, and Stinkin' Rich Skunks Gone Wild! are among the titles.
Are IGT and Churchill Downs still able to grow?
The acquisition marks the beginning of what Exacta president Jeff Lind calls a "exciting" push into foreign markets.
He went on to say that the excitement of HHR gaming and the adaptability of our Exacta Connect system to various legislation and market situations were the main factors in the company's continued growth.
Deal is "an exciting growth milestone," according to IGT's COO for gaming Nick Khin.
"Our HHR content and hardware portfolio's quality and global relevance are demonstrated by this."
National Lottery CEO Johann Schembri stated that the first HHR systems are expected to go live within the next several weeks.
A major step forward in our mission to modernise the National Lottery's operations, this first installation at IZIBINGO and other sites within our network in the next weeks is the product of tremendous labour.
"By partnering with industry heavyweights Exacta and IGT, we have created the perfect platform to showcase our offering and launch our global expansion efforts for this concept."
Today, July 4th, is the first day that IZIBINGO will be open to the public.
The US's HHR situation is still unclear.
Uncertainty regarding HHR's future in certain states may correlate with the choice to seek opportunities outside the US.
An outright prohibition on home health resuscitation machines was enacted by the state of Minnesota earlier this year. That leaves Running Aces and Canterbury Park unable to provide HHR services to their respective clientele.
As of 2015, a similar prohibition was also in effect in Idaho. This followed the installation of machines at Greyhound Park, Les Bois Park and Idaho Falls' Double Down Bar & Grill. After lawmakers said they were misinformed about the games, they passed a prohibition.
The restriction was initially vetoed by the then-governor, but it was overridden when the Coeur d'Alene tribe, who own a casino that rivals the racetracks, prevailed in a lawsuit challenging the veto. In 2018, a measure to get HHR machines back on the books was shot down.
In 2021, Kentucky partially reversed its ban on HHR machines, allowing them solely at racetracks.
