The partnership between FanDuel and Boyd Gaming Corp. will see four sportsbooks, covering two Midwestern states, launch over an 11-day period later this month and in early September – just in time for the kick-off of the NFL season.
A Boyd spokesman said late Wednesday FanDuel would begin sports betting operations at the company’s Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, Iowa on Aug. 29. Six days later, a FanDuel sportsbook will open at Boyd’s Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque, Iowa.
On Sept. 5, FanDuel will launch a sportsbook at Boyd’s Blue Chip resort in the Northwest Indiana community of Michigan City. On Sept. 9, FanDuel’s sportsbook, at the Belterra resort in the Southern Indiana town of Florence, will launch.
The operations will be similar to the FanDuel sportsbook that opened in March at Boyd’s Valley Forge Casino near Philadelphia.
Boyd, which operates sportsbooks at the company’s casinos in Nevada and Mississippi, provides the space for FanDuel at its Iowa and Indiana properties. The companies have negotiated financial arrangements that vary based on the states and their regulations.
Indiana will become the 12th state to operate legal sports betting when the activity initiates there on Sept. 1. Iowa launched its first sportsbooks last week, becoming the 11th state with legal sports wagering following the repeal of the federal ban on the activity by the U.S. Supreme Court 15 months ago.
During Boyd Gaming’s second quarter conference call with analysts on July 30, CEO Keith Smith was hesitant to discuss the company’s revenue from sports betting but said the activity drives “incremental traffic” into the company’s casinos that supports other forms of gambling, restaurants, and non-gaming activity.
“We’ve seen good traction, we’ve seen good foot traffic from the three operations that we’ve opened thus far,” Smith said in a response to an analyst’s question. “Based on what we’ve achieved so far in Mississippi and Pennsylvania, we are optimistic our partnership with FanDuel will continue to contribute to growth in visitation and revenues across our regional operations, while further expanding our customer base.”
Boyd spokesman David Strow said the Iowa and Indiana sports betting operations would cater to fans in nearby major markets that surround the regional casinos.
At the Diamond Jo in Northwood, which is near the Iowa-Minnesota border and a roughly two-hour drive from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul market, the companies are bringing in former Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame defensive lineman John Randle to place the initial wager.
With the Diamond Jo in Dubuque drawing customers from Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, the companies will have former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman on hand for the initial sports wager.
Meanwhile, at Blue Chip, which is a little more than a one-hour drive from Chicago, Boyd and FanDuel are planning for a “major Chicago Bears” personality to be on hand for the opening.
At Belterra, which draws customers from the neighboring Louisville and Cincinnati markets, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, who led the team to their first Super Bowl appearance in 1982, will make the opening wager.
In July, FanDuel launched an online sports betting application in partnership with Valley Forge that is being operated under the FanDuel name. Mobile products are being planned for Iowa and Indiana.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
