Renowned fantasy sports company, DraftKings is set to bring its online and mobile sports betting as well as casino gaming offerings to more states in the United States following a recent multi-year and multi-state partnership agreement with casino operator Caesars Entertainment. This means that the fantasy sports operator will now be able to offer its gaming products to certain states where sports betting has been legalized and Caesars Entertainment owns a casino.
As per the terms of the multi-year agreement, Caesars will receive equity in DraftKings while DraftKings will be allowed to advertise the casino operator as its official casino resort partner. As it stands, Caesars Entertainment operates a whopping 42 casinos across 13 states in the US most of which will be able to accommodate the partnership.
Jason Robins, the CEO, and co-founder of DraftKings believes that the partnership between the two companies will expedite DraftKings’ nationwide roll-out process while at the same time give it the opportunity to work alongside and learn from Caesars which is considered to be one of the most established gaming operators in the world. During the press release, he also assured their customers that they can look forward to more world-class innovative and engaging sports and entertainment products and events.
DraftKings officially ventured into sports betting last year after the United States Supreme Court abolished PASPA and lifted the federal ban on sports betting. Since then, the company has been slowly expanding its portfolio and extending its reach in the country with the Caesars partnership being just one of its many attempts at rising to the top of the sports betting industry. While it does not own a single physical sportsbook, DraftKings has established itself as a formidable contender for the top spot in the United States’ legal online sports betting scene.
What It Means for Pennsylvania
The Keystone State’s online gambling industry is expected to go online sometime this year and the deal seemingly paves way for DraftKings’ entry into that market – it seemed so for the DraftKings Casinos which offers traditional online casino games within the same platform. Well, this is not the case since Caesars Entertainment is only permitted to acquire one sports betting license in the Commonwealth and there are rumors that the casino operator plans on deploying its own sportsbook in that market.
“We are committed to supporting DraftKings’ bid to offer their online sports betting platform in all jurisdictions where they desire a license and where the law allows it,” a spokesperson for Caesars.
Evidently, Pennsylvania will definitely not be an easy market to penetrate and therefore DraftKings might have to consider other partners if it is going to successfully go live with sports betting in the state.