In Nevada’s glistening towns and cities, sports wagering remains a consistent pull factor despite a surge in competition from other states. However, two of the industry’s most notable operators, DraftKings and FanDuel, have yet to extend their services to the thrumming betting heartland of the United States.
The long-heralded entry date of these leading sportsbook brands into Nevada remains a mystery. Nevertheless, during a Wednesday gathering of the influential Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), representatives from both FanDuel and its parent company Flutter Entertainment shed some sagacious light on the situation. Curiously, it may require an acquisition for these titans of the betting industry to set foot in the Silver State.
Flutter’s CFO, Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, held the NGCB in keen suspense. FanDuel, he said, is always on the lookout to inflate its influence in any state that provides lucrative business opportunities, Nevada included. Yet, untying the complex knots peculiar to Nevada’s gaming landscape has made the entry of FanDuel into the state a puzzling challenge without the assistance of an acquisition. He assured the NGCB that every potential option is under continual review.
One of these complex knots is Nevada’s peculiar requirement for bettors to visit a physical casino and complete paperwork for opening online sports wagering accounts. This contrasts sharply with many states which have adopted mobile sports betting without such laborious demands. As neither DraftKings nor FanDuel operates physical casinos, this policy has kept them outside the state’s borders.
While DraftKings maintains an office in the southwestern precincts of Las Vegas, FanDuel’s Nevada footprint is even more diminutive. The company’s branding and odds are featured at Boyd Gaming’s Fremont Hotel Casino nestled in downtown Las Vegas, but its territorial claim in the state ends there.
Boyd holds a minor 5% stake in FanDuel and rumor has it that as part of the Suncoast Hotel & Casino revamp in Las Vegas’ sprawling suburbs, a similar partnership with FanDuel might be on the cards. However, even this wouldn’t enable FanDuel to propose mobile betting services to the gamblers of Nevada, a point re-emphasised by Flutter’s Padraig O’Riordain to the NGCB.
O’Riordain maintained, “Our challenge in relation to Nevada is we have very developed risk and trading from a sports perspective globally, but without making acquisitions and undergoing different licensure here, we can’t bring that in. For us, we need to figure out how we’re going to solve that issue. The matter is under consideration.”
FanDuel and Flutter executives however, did not divulge any specific acquisition plans in Nevada, leaving the air rife with speculation.
Interestingly, it appears Nevada might be missing out on a significant revenue slice by insisting on in-person registration. This policy keeps major operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings at bay. By some estimates, these two operators alone command almost 80% of the online sports wagering market in the US. Potential game-changers such as ESPN Bet and Fanatics also distance themselves from Nevada due to its in-person registration requirement.
Despite the M Resort Spa Casino in Henderson being under the stewardship of ESPN Bet’s owner Penn Entertainment, the company recently signaled that it isn’t aiming to amend ESPN Bet’s Nevada status in the immediate future. This leaves little room for hope among bettors in the state, but the story is far from over as the contenders continue to weigh their options.
