Daily fantasy sports (DFS) industry leader DraftKings will be launching a New Jersey sportsbook when the time comes, as it has announced it has partnered with Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel as its licensing partner. It is expected that New Jersey will open its regulated sports betting industry very soon; licensed horse racetracks and Atlantic City casinos will be permitted to operate sports books (pending separate licensing), so DraftKings needed to find one with which to pair.
“We are excited to work with Resorts Hotel Casino to bring our new DraftKings sportsbook to New Jersey,” said DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins in a press release. “As a tech savvy and a long-term growth oriented organization, Resorts Hotel Casino aligns perfectly with our customer-focused, innovation culture.”
“We are at a pivotal moment in the development of sports betting in the U.S.,” added Morris Bailey, owner of Resorts Casino Hotel. “We are delighted to be able to have DraftKings utilize our gaming license in New Jersey. DraftKings continues to be at the forefront of sports entertainment innovation, and today’s announcement is the first step in being able to offer customers in New Jersey the most dynamic sports betting platform.”
DraftKings’ announcement comes on the tails of the notice that Irish bookmaker and online gaming company Paddy Power Betfair has agreed to acquire DraftKings’ main rival, FanDuel. Paddy Power Betfair already has a presence in New Jersey, operating with Golden Nugget’s license.
DraftKings and Sports Betting Was an Inevitability
That DraftKings would enter the sports betting arena comes as no surprise. It hired a Head of Sportsbook in February and sports wagering is a natural match with daily fantasy sports. There is a sizeable overlap between the population that plays daily fantasy and those that would bet on sports and DraftKings has a database of daily fantasy players millions of names and e-mail addresses long (though only people located in New Jersey will be allowed to bet using DraftKings’ platform). Hell, as much as some wouldn’t want to admit it, daily fantasy sports is just another form of sports betting.
Interestingly (or not, make of it what you will), PokerStars is partnered with Resorts on the online poker side. PokerStars has its own online sports book, BetStars; there is no word if it plans on getting into the sports betting game in New Jersey. One would think it would have to partner with a different casino at this point.
DraftKings has said it will launch both a sports betting mobile app and a web-based (read: browser) platform when the New Jersey sports betting market opens. Resorts will almost certainly have a brick-and-mortar sportsbook – it would be asinine not to – and one might guess it will be plastered with the DraftKings logo.
Sports betting bills have passed through New Jersey legislative committees and could go to full votes on Thursday. Should everything work out – and it is expected that it will – sportsbooks could open in New Jersey by the end of the week.
