A new deal between sports betting and daily fantasy company FanDuel Group and Boyd Gaming appears to tell us something about the future of Valley Forge Casino Resort.
Boyd + FanDuel = sports betting
Boyd Gaming last week announced a partnership that will see it partner with FanDuel — now under the ownership of European gaming giant Paddy Power Betfair.
The playbook so far for FanDuel has been to deploy a FanDuel Sportsbook in places where it will launch. So far, it has one live at The Meadowlands in New Jersey. More are on the way in both West Virginia and New York.
The deal also covers every state that Boyd is in outside of Nevada, which could put it in ten states if they all legalize sports betting eventually.
It’s not a guarantee that Boyd will go live in PA, but it certainly seems likely, at this point.
MGM coming to PA, too?
Boyd could also deploy a FanDuel Sportsbook via other states, thanks to another deal last week.
MGM Resorts and Boyd entered into an agreement that gives the other market access for online sports betting and online casinos in states where the other does not have a license.
That means that Boyd could be in a total of 15 states for sports betting, eventually, thanks to MGM. For Pennsylvania, that means MGM — which does not have a casino in the state — could use Boyd to offer sports betting and online casino.
Given MGM’s huge plans for sports wagering, it would seem likely we’ll see MGM coming along for the ride in PA.
PA sports betting plans start coming into focus
That makes it just the second known casino in Pennsylvania to announce that it would be deploying sports betting and a clue as to how. Parx Casino made its intentions known via a deal with GAN recently.
While there’s no guarantee Boyd will pony up the $10 million and pay the 36 percent effective tax rate for sports gambling revenue, we may soon know if a FanDuel Sportsbook is in the cards for PA.
