The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) approved on Tuesday an addition to be built at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Florida-based Continent 8, an iGaming data center and global network solutions provider, had asked for permission to build a 5,330-square-foot modular addition to the outside of the center.
The proposed addition was greenlighted by the board of directors of the CRDA with a single dissenting vote, Press of Atlantic City reports. The approved resolution authorizes the Development Authority executive director to negotiate a lease agreement for the project.
Fort Lauderdale-based Continent 8 describes itself as “the world’s largest iGaming data center and global network solutions provider.” In 2014, the company launched operations in Atlantic City, serving both New Jersey and New York. Representatives for the firm told the CRDA the iGaming business is experiencing a boom fueled by the growth of online sports gaming.
Although CRDA board members Edward Gant and Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver expressed concerns on whether the project would pay prevailing wages, the usage of modular construction -which was not accepted for previous projects-, and on how long the company intended to use the structure, the petition was finally passed, with only Gant voting in disagreement.
“Maybe we can work out some of the details. Here’s a company that wants to grow in Atlantic City. Instead of them going somewhere else, I’d like to move on this,” board member Mike Beson said, according to the cited news source.
The expansion would reportedly house a data center built in Phoenix and assembled on-site, according to a company representative present at the meeting. The expansion is set to allow Atlantic City to serve as a hub for online gaming.
Following the opening of its first operation in New Jersey in 2014, Continent 8 opened a second specialized data center at the Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City in 2018, Data Center Dynamics reports. At the time, the business unveiled plans for its third project, now to be housed at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
“A third new, independent Continent 8 data center location in Atlantic City will be added shortly to further capacity and provide additional secure data redundancy and disaster recovery,” the business said of the project at the time.
The Ocean Resort Casino data center, in conjunction with the upcoming location, is set to provide connectivity to Pennsylvania and Nevada locations, plus a direct link to Continent 8’s global network of 30+ data centers, the company said in a press release from 2018.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/02/16/61426-nj-authorities-clear-continent-8-to-build-igaming-data-center-at-atlantic-city-convention-center
