FanDuel and Mohegan Sun Sign Major iGaming Deal
FanDuel and the Mohegan Sun tribe has signed a new partnership deal involving online casino gaming, sports betting, and daily fantasy sports.
This week, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment announced a deal with FanDuel, naming the operator its partner for online casino gaming, sports betting, and daily fantasy sports. The company, a subsidiary of the Mohegan Tribe, will see FanDuel offering these services in partnership with its Mohegan Sun casino. The Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment group has a new subsidiary known as Mohegan Digital that will focus on providing online gambling services, including implementing the operations of FanDuel.
Continued Growth for FanDuel
In the beginning, FanDuel was only focused on daily fantasy sports services. However, once sports betting was legalized in the US, the company branched out and started offering a second service. Soon after, the company then branched out even further and began setting up casino games within its sportsbooks.
Today, the company is live in 10 states with sports betting and features daily fantasy sports in more than 40 states. They also have online casino gaming in West Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. While the company is known for making big moves, this recently deal with Mohegan is a first for the brand.
The deal marks the first time that FanDuel has partnered with a tribal entity. Because of the historic agreement, the gaming provider has plans to go big when it comes to its physical sportsbook at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut.
FanDuel Group President, Amy Howe, stated that the company has ‘incredible plans’ when it comes to the property. The space could be the largest FanDuel branded sportsbook located in the US. According to Howe, Connecticut is going to be a key state for the brand as they look towards the upcoming football season.
FanDuel will need to meet certain regulatory conditions before it can start offering services in the state. once the brand is approved, a temporary space will be set up. this space will include live betting windows and self-service kiosks. The permanent sportsbook is not expected to be ready until late 2022.
The brand has a great track record when it comes to live sports betting. One of its most successful books is located at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. The sportsbook was open for the entire year of 2019 and managed to pull in almost $150 million in revenues. Even during the pandemic in 2020, the sportsbook beat its first full year total by over $50 million.
The Connecticut location has potential to be a big earner just as the Meadowlands has proven to be. The new location will be another notch in FanDuel’s belt, helping the brand continue to build a strong foothold in the online gambling industry within the US.
Small But Wealthy Market
Connecticut is a relatively small state when it comes to population. With only around 3.5 million people, the state sits around the middle of the pack in the US. Though the number of people living in Connecticut is small, the pocketbooks are large. The median income for a household in the state is just over $78,000.
The state is promising due to the location as well as the ability for players to spend cash on betting. The market is one that top operators like BetMGM, DraftKings, and William Hill are interested in entering. For FanDuel, the company secured a nice market access deal and will easily be able to gain ground quickly once services begin.
It will be interesting to see how well received the online gambling services of the brand will be in the state. Which will be more fruitful, online casino gaming or sports betting?
