Daily fantasy sports operator FanDuel says its brand will front the new sportsbook at West Virginia’s The Greenbrier Resort.
On Monday, NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk (PFT) reported that The Greenbrier Resort’s private casino will feature FanDuel-branded sports betting both physically at the resort and via online and mobile devices.
PFT quoted FanDuel CEO Matt King saying his company was “honored” to have been selected to provide wagering for “an iconic resort” such as the Greenbrier. King noted that his company was still working towards “building out a top sports betting product for the upcoming NFL season.”
It was only a month ago that FanDuel announced that it was merging its operations with the US-facing business of UK-listed gambling giant Paddy Power Betfair. Since FanDuel has never offered single-game sports betting before, King’s use of the phrase “building out” may primarily involve slapping FanDuel’s logo on PPB’s existing sportsbook, as well as a few more technical tweaks for the US market.
West Virginia approved emergency sports betting regulations last week, clearing the way for the state’s four public casinos and The Greenbrier to (hopefully) start their wagering operations before the NFL season gets underway.
HARD ROCK AC SAYS NO BETTING ON THURSDAY
Meanwhile, only one of the new Atlantic City casinos opening this week will be offering sports betting to its guests. The Ocean Resort Casino (formerly known as Revel) will feature a William Hill-powered temporary sportsbook when its doors open at 1pm on Thursday. The permanent 7,500-square-foot sportsbook will open at some unspecified future date.
The Hard Rock Atlantic City, on the other hand, is taking a wait and see approach to wagering. On Monday, the Press of Atlantic City quoted Hard Rock AC’s president Matt Harkness saying the venue was “not opening with sports betting but it’s something we’re taking a very hard look at for the future.”
Hard Rock International CEO Jim Allen told the New York Times that his group was preparing to announce a sports betting technology partnership. However, he qualified that he expected sports betting to provide only a modest boost in terms of profits, suggesting the real value lay in giving people “another reason to go to Atlantic City.”
The Borgata is currently the only AC casino offering sports betting to its customers, although Resorts Casino Hotel is reportedly close to opening its DraftKings/Kambi sportsbook and Caesars Entertainment’s three venues are expected to be offering betting by August. The Monmouth Park racetrack is the only other gaming operator in the state with an active sportsbook, although the Meadowlands says it will launch its own sports betting offering on July 15.
