BetAmerica Sportsbook Resumes Opereation after SBTech Cyber Attack

The BetAmerica sportsbook has come back online three weeks after its sports betting platform provider was hit by a sophisticated cyber attack that forced the wagering operation to shut down.

BetAmerica, which is owned by US casino and racetrack operator Churchill Downs Inc., on Friday informed its US online betting and casino customers that it was returning back online after the incident.

BetAmerica is powered by sports betting and gaming platform provider SBTech. In late March, the provider became the victim of a powerful ransomware attack that forced it to power down its data centers around the world.

That caused more than 50 sports betting operations, including BetAmerica, to shut down while SBTech and third-party experts brought in by the company investigated the incident.

Some of the affected SBTech-powered sportsbooks remained offline only for about a weekend, but others like BetAmerica had to wait for weeks before they were able to resume operations.

SBTech has not disclosed the exact nature of the cyber attack, but ensured that no bettor data has been exposed as a result of the incident.

In a statement to its customers, BetAmerica said that its technology provider has advised them “that there has been no indication that BetAmerica customer data was accessed or extracted.”

BetAmerica’s Online Casino Was, Too, Affected

The BetAmerica brand comprises retail and digital sportsbooks in several US states as well as an online casino operation. The online casino, was, too, affected by the recent cyber attack.

BetAmerica ventured into the online casino sector in February 2019 when it launched its casino app in the regulated iGaming market of New Jersey. The operator extended its iGaming footprint to Pennsylvania earlier this year after a successful testing period with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in late January.

BetAmerica also operates a racebook that runs separately from its sports betting and online casino product. The racebook was not affected by the cyber attack.

Churchill Downs launched its BetAmerica brand in 2018 after the US Supreme Court invalidated a long-standing federal ban on athletic gambling. The BetAmerica sportsbooks were first debuted in Mississippi where sports betting became legal shortly after the SCOTUS ruling was issued.

The BetAmerica brand later on expanded in Indiana with retail and online sportsbooks and in Pennsylvania with Presque Isle Downs and Casino, which is owned by Churchill Downs. The operation has also launched a sports betting app in New Jersey through a partnership with Atlantic City’s Golden Nugget Casino.

Other US sportsbooks that are powered by SBTech, including the Oregon Lottery’s Scoreboard app, returned online much earlier. The aforementioned Oregon-facing app resumed operations on April 2, or just a couple of days after the cyper attack had hit the sports betting technology provider.

Source: BetAmerica Online Sportsbook, Casino Resume Operations Three Weeks After Cyberattack on SBTech

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