Renowned daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator DraftKings has been very busy of late. Less than a week ago, the fantasy sports provider recorded a significant rise in the price of its stock when it closed a massive $3.3 billion merger. This merger enabled the company to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Needless to say, this is a pretty big deal especially because of the opportunities that it opens up for the company. After officially becoming a publicly traded company, DraftKings is now looking to puff up its online casino portfolio and one of the first markets that it has its sights set on is Pennsylvania.
According to the agenda of a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) meeting scheduled for April 29, DraftKings has in the recent past petitioned for an Interactive Gaming Operator License. This petition, if approved, will give the daily fantasy sports operator the green light to launch an online casino product in the Keystone State.
Replicating Sports Betting Success
As it stands, DraftKings already has a thriving sports betting business in Pennsylvania – its online sportsbook has been operating in the state since November 2019. It, therefore, hopes to replicate the success that it has had in the sports betting space with its yet-to-launched online casino offering.
In New Jersey, the daily fantasy sports operator has already launched an online casino that has been integrated into its existing sports betting app. There are speculations that it is likely to follow the same route in Pennsylvania.
The quality of the online casino offering is also going to be just as good as what is currently on offer in New Jersey. In essence, players will get to access a number of top-notch gaming options including some of the best online slots, table games, and video poker titles. Still, it should be very prepared to cope with the very competitive iGaming market in the state.
Potential Partners
As per the gaming rules in Pennsylvania, DraftKings’ online casino will have to partners with one of the state’s land-based casino operators. The operator’s sports betting partner Meadows Racetrack & Casino does not have an online casino license. This is probably due to the fact the owner of Meadows, Penn National Gaming, also owns Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. Hollywood Casino was able to get one of the online gaming licenses when they were available.
This might actually be a good thing since the Keystone State’s gaming regulations actually allow for multiple online skins under a single operator license. So, maybe that might be all that DraftKings needs to launch its online casino. It, however, remains to be seen especially as the company tries to navigate its operations amidst the coronavirus pandemic.