With sports betting regulation news becoming a daily occurrence in the U.S., a deal between Caesars and DraftKings Sportsbook was not a big surprise. Many insiders in the industry envisioned this deal as a way for DraftKings to rapidly enter more states with legal sports betting and DraftKings Casino.
The is the third big deal in 2019 for Caesars. In January the NFL and Caesars reached an exclusive agreement. Earlier this month Caesars and Bleacher Report announced a deal that will rapidly grow the digital footprint of Caesars.
Caesars + DraftKings Agreement Details
As part of the deal, Caesars is receiving some equity stake in DraftKings. Caesars will also receive a cut of DraftKings revenue in states where the partnership is active. This comes at a time where the owner of Caesars in being pressured to sell the company by activist Carl Icahn.
Based in Las Vegas, Caesars is one of the largest NJ online casino companies in the United States. Caesars gambling properties are located in 14 states, including New Jersey Sportsbooks, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Nevada which already have legal sports betting.
The vision here is to get DraftKings involved with Caesars 37 properties across 14 states. DraftKings is already in NJ and Mississippi. It is a safe assumption that DraftKings will develop a second base of operations in Nevada via this deal as well.
Here’s DraftKings CEO Jason Robins on the deal:
“Partnering with such a world class gaming organization will expedite our national roll-out process and give us the opportunity to work alongside one of the largest and most established industry leaders in the world. We look forward to collaborating with Caesars Entertainment on creating the most innovative and engaging sports and entertainment products and events for our customers.”
DraftKings Sportsbook Push Into New States
As of right now, there are eight states with legal sports betting, with at least 12 more potentially joining sometime in 2019. Since PASPA was overturned in May 2018, DraftKings Sportsbook, a daily fantasy sports leader and FanDuel Sportsbook, their direct competitor, have dominated online sports betting in New Jersey.
States with Caesars Properties:
Arizona
California
Maryland
Illinois
Mississippi
New Jersey
Indiana
Missouri
North Carolina
Iowa
Louisiana
Nevada
Pennsylvania
DraftKings now has a partner and opportunity to immediately enter the states above once sports betting regulations are passed.
With more than 55 million customers in the Caesars Bonus program, DraftKings could gain access to a whole other world of potential gamblers.
The CZR-DraftKings deal meaningfully expands DraftKings’ sports betting *and* online casino gambling reach. States with CZR commercial casino properties listed below (table excludes states in which CZR operates racetracks or manages tribal casinos): pic.twitter.com/jyLuASVR2M
— Chris Krafcik (@CKrafcik) February 25, 2019