DraftKings to offer sports betting in NJ
The DFS company has agreed a deal with Resorts Atlantic City to offer sports betting in New Jersey.
US.- The recent legalisation of sports betting in the United States has shaken the gambling industry and discussions between companies and casinos are ongoing. Daily fantasy sports (DFS) giant DraftKings has announced that it is teaming up with Resorts Atlantic City to offer sports betting in New Jersey.
The deal signed on Friday will give the companies the chance to position themselves to gain a large share of the recently legalised sports betting market. The US Supreme Court declared late last month that the federal prohibition on sports betting was unconstitutional, giving states the opportunity to legalise and regulate it if they wanted. As New Jersey was one of the states that already offered some type of online gaming, it is expected that it will regulate sports betting in the upcoming weeks.
Jason Robbins, CEO of DraftKings, said: “Everybody knows there’s a big opportunity out there. It’s a new thing, so people are trying to see how they want to go about it, who they want to partner with. Anytime you’ve got a big market about to be created, there’s so much opportunity out there that everyone should benefit, as long as you do it the right way.”
The CEO added that Draftkings will offer web-based and mobile operations for sports betting in New Jersey. “We are excited to work with Resorts Hotel Casino to bring our new DraftKings sportsbook to New Jersey. As a tech savvy and a long-term growth-oriented organisation, Resorts Hotel Casino aligns perfectly with our customer-focused, innovation culture.”
Morris Bailey, the owner of Resorts, welcomed the new revenue stream and said that DraftKings is a dynamic brand. “The market is huge,” he said. “It’s how much of that market we’ll be able to get.”
Moreover, Bailey opposed the idea of integrity fee payments to sports leagues, as he considers that they would be inappropriate. The leagues have historically opposed the idea of sports betting, and once it was clear that the Supreme Court was going to strike down the Act that prohibited states from offering the gambling modality, they started campaigning for a portion of the revenue. “It’s totally inappropriate,” Bailey said. “It’s the height of hypocrisy to take the position they did.”
