Resorts Casino Hotel has become the first casino in Atlantic City to introduce daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests for real money. The casino launched a daily fantasy sports game called FastPick where players will be able to bet on head-to- head player matchups of real-world athletes.
In a statement Mark Giannantonio Resorts President said
I’m very excited about this new business. We expect it to be exciting for our online customers, and soon, for those who play at our casino. The idea has always been for the brick-and- mortar casino to be integrated as much as possible with our online business.
This move marks the entry of daily fantasy sports to the New Jersey casino industry. Resorts World has partnered with DFS supplier Sports AD for the venture. The size of the bet varies from $10 to $200 and the maximum bet payout is $100,000. Currently only baseball games are supported.
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DFS contests involve creation of fantasy teams by contestants made up of real sports players which then compete. Prize money is won based on the actual performance of the players. Supporters claim that DFS games are skill based but many states have categorized it as gambling.
FastPick differs from standard DFS contests as offered by companies like DraftKings in that the customer bets against the house rather than other contestants. The game will allow customers pick 3 to 10 players from a set of head-to- head matchups spanning several sports, to form the lineup. The players gather points based on their performance in real-world games.
In case the customer’s chosen player gains more points than the casino’s player, the customer wins that matchup. The customer needs to win all the matchups to net the prize money. Initially the game is being made available online and will be accessible to customers who are located inside the borders of New Jersey. Resorts casino has said that it plans on setting up kiosks on the casino floors before the football season starts. An industry website Legal Sports Report stated that a soft launch of the platform might take place before the end of next week.
Giovanni Garcia, who operates TheFantasySportsCave.com, a website focusing on the DFS industry said that the new DFS game would encourage DFS players to visit the casino. Garcia pointed out that people like him were often not keen to go to a football game. But if the casino offered an exciting experience, he might be tempted to visit the casino, watch the games and then spend on food and beverage or even play poker or blackjack.
