Fantasy sports provider FanDuel Group and regional casino operator Boyd Gaming became the latest companies to team up to launch services to sports betting operations in the United States.
On August 2nd, the two companies made a public announcement confirmed their strategic partnership to engage in online gaming and sports betting ventures throughout the US.
MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming also made a deal in which the two companies will provide legal online betting and sports betting in several states in which they operate casino resorts.
Boyd will receive market access from MGM in five states: New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and Michigan. MGM has also teamed up with online gambling operator GVC Holdings to launch their sports wagering platform.
FanDuel along with DraftKings are the two biggest daily fantasy sports operators in the United States. FanDuel Group is now under the UK-based umbrella company Paddy Power Betfair. This new deal will include all states where Boyd Gaming has gaming licenses except Nevada. There was no reason provided as to why Nevada will not be covered in this new partnership deal.
However it is not hard to determine why FanDuel is not keen on entering Nevada. In October 2015, the Silver State’s gaming regulators halted the thriving daily fantasy sports industry. Nevada’s Gaming Control Board stated the activity was defined as sports wagering based on the state’s laws and neither company had applied yet for a license.
The stiff stance taken by Nevada regulators against FanDuel caused a lot of other state regulators to adopt a similar stance and caused major problems for the daily fantasy sports operator.
Key Results of Boyd-FanDuel Deal
This deal permits Boyd Gaming to operate its online and mobile gambling and sports betting services under its own brand while FanDuel will operate its online gaming and sports betting operations in all states where Boyd Gaming has a license to operate – barring Nevada.
The two companies will also work together in cross-promotional and co-branding activities. FanDuel Group which has a presence in over 45 states has over 8 million customers who will now have access to Boyd Gaming properties while Boyd’s customers will have access to
FanDuel’s betting services.
In a statement, Keith Smith, CEO of Boyd Gaming said
We will also see immediate benefits from our cross-marketing agreement with FanDuel, introducing millions of FanDuel customers to Boyd Gaming’s properties nationwide
