A FanDuel Online Casino? It Might Happen In New Jersey After Paddy Power Betfair Deal

Dustin Gouker Posted on Jun 8, 2018 09:29 PDT

This article may be outdated. Get the latest news on New Jersey here.

Are you ready for a FanDuel online casino in New Jersey? That could be a real thing in the relatively near future.

Paddy Power Betfair US CEO Kip Levin told Online Poker Report that rebranding its NJ online casino with the daily fantasy sports site’s moniker is “something we’re considering.” That news comes after PPB announced it was acquiring FanDuel in a deal expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

FanDuel… as an online casino?

The possibility of a FanDuel casino arose after PPB’s US plans came more into focus on Friday. Betfair US announced it had inked deals to provide sports betting with Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey and Tioga Downs in New York.

The likelihood of a FanDuel sportsbook at Meadowlands came out of that development. But in the wake of that announcement, Levin also said that it’s “very likely” that FanDuel will be the company’s primary brand across the US, with the TVG brand — for online horse betting — will remain.

Betfair Casino has been in the NJ online gambling market for some time, operating under the license of Golden Nugget. By last year that operation was nnear profitability. And in Q1 results from this year, PPB’s US operations were already trending upward, before the FanDuel acquistion.

It appears that casino may simply be repurposed with FanDuel’s name, attempting to cash in on the brand awareness of FanDuel. Betfair, while a well-known brand in Europe, does not hold a lot of name value in the US.

All of the above is conditional on the acquisition of FanDuel going through, of course.

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Wait, isn’t FanDuel only in the skill game business?

For years, FanDuel and competitor DraftKings have insisted they only offer games of skill in the form of DFS contests, not a gambling product.

The companies are pivoting quickly from that position.

FanDuel, by being acquired by a company that only deals in gambling, is obviously quickly going to become more than just a DFS site.

DraftKings had already announced its intentions to offer a sports betting product, in New Jersey and beyond. It would also not be shocking for DraftKings to offer an online casino product next to an online sportsbook in NJ.

FanDuel slots? DraftKings roulette? It could all be here before you know it.

Dustin Gouker - Dustin Gouker has been a sports journalist for more than 15 years, working as a reporter, editor and designer -- including stops at The Washington Post and the D.C. Examiner. He has played poker recreationally for his entire adult life and has written about poker since 2008.