A third Indiana online/mobile sportsbook will launch Tuesday in Indiana.
On Monday morning, the Indiana Gaming Commission publicly issued a mobile launch authorization to New York-based FanDuel. The authorization follows green lights for Illinois-based Rush Street Interactive and its BetRivers platform and Massachusetts-based DraftKings. BetRivers and DraftKings launched Oct. 3.
Last week at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, FanDuel President and COO Kip Levin told Hoosier State Bets that the company was on the verge of launching.
FanDuel’s launch is significant because it doesn’t use the same oddsmaker as BetRivers and DraftKings, both of which are powered by Kambi, a Malta-based tech firm. FanDuel’s tech partners are IGT and Paddy Power Betfair, the latter of which is its parent company. However, everything is under the umbrella of Flutter Entertainment (formerly PPB), which recently reached a deal to acquire The Stars Group, owner of PokerStars. Through a joint venture, TSG powers FOX Bet, a quasi FanDuel rival at this point.
In New Jersey, a state in which FanDuel, DraftKings, and Rush Street all do business, there’s no objective gauge on whether odds at FanDuel are better or worse than the odds at the Kambi books (depends on the betting market), but consumers can find significantly different prices and always benefit from shopping around before deciding whether or not to bet. From this perspective, FanDuel’s launch is a positive development for Indiana sports bettors. FanDuel’s launch will also bring additional bonus offers to consumers.
FanDuel’s retail partner
In order to gain access to Indiana’s pool of gamblers or would-be gamblers, the company had to partner with a brick-and-mortar casino licensee. Boyd Gaming and its Blue Chip Casino and Belterra Casino Resort are FanDuel’s teammates for Indiana sports gambling.
In September, both casinos opened FanDuel-branded sportsbooks, both of which are pipsqueaks by Las Vegas standards. The real money comes from online gambling, where bettors can wager from anywhere and at a faster rate, especially with in-game betting. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, more than 80% of the handle comes via the internet. Indiana should eventually have a similar breakdown.
Last month, Indiana’s retail sportsbooks took a mere $35 mm in bets collectively.
FanDuel recently announced an online gambling partnership with the Indianapolis Colts for the ongoing NFL season. Because the NFL is still keeping gambling at arm’s length in the public sphere, the deal was labeled a “fantasy sports” partnership. That probably hasn’t fooled many people, as FanDuel is a prominent traditional sports gambling brand these days.
The Colts will help send their fans to FanDuel’s online/mobile sportsbook.
