Caesars Entertainment Corp. CEO Mark Frissora said in an interview with Yahoo Finance that sports betting is a huge win for the US gambling industry, referring to the recent decision of the US Supreme Court to lift a federal ban on the provision of sports betting services.

Following the closure of a two-and-a-half-year bankruptcy case last fall, Caesars said that it would look to strengthen its domestic operations and to extend its footprint to new jurisdictions as part of its post-bankruptcy growth strategy.

Mr. Frissora pointed out in his latest interview that the expected legalization of sports betting in multiple US states would present a huge opportunity for his company as it operates 36 casino and integrated resort properties across the nation.

New Jersey was the state to initiate the sports betting case that culminated in the annulment of the federal ban and it is anticipated that it would be among the first states to legalize the activity. A sports betting legislation is expected to be rolled out by state lawmakers any day now and almost all Atlantic City casinos, including the ones operated by Caesars, have said that they are ready to launch sports betting services the moment these become legal.

Asked about the impact of sports betting on the nation’s casino industry, Mr. Frissora said that they expect that type of gambling activity will actually have a positive effect on their operations. The executive explained that just as online casinos have increased interest in their brick-and-mortar facilities, online betting could bring more people to their physical sports books.

Mr. Frissora said that this would be due to the fact that more and more people would like to have the vibe of betting at an actual facility than just staying home and wagering online.

Of Caesars’ non-betting related plans, the company’s CEO said that they would look to expand its geographical presence across multiple jurisdictions. Mr. Frissora pointed out that they do not really have casino gaming footprint in Asia yet which is going to change with the early 2020s opening of Caesars’ integrated resort in Incheon, South Korea.

The company also has a good shot at winning a casino license in Japan, Mr. Frissora went on to say during his interview with Yahoo Finance. Just as a number of other top casino executives, the Caesars CEO said that it probably would not be before late 2019 or early 2020 that the preferred bidders for the construction of the nation’s first integrated resorts with casino gaming facilities would be selected and granted the necessary operational licenses. Melco Resorts & Entertainment CEO Lawrence Ho and Las Vegas Sands President Robert Goldstein have, too, recently presented similar prognoses about Japan’s casino licensing process.

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