- Flutter Entertainment owned FanDuel has launched mobile sports betting in Louisiana.
- The Louisiana launch is in partnership with Boyd Gaming which owns five properties in Louisiana.
- FanDuel also operates retail sportsbooks in Boyd Gaming’s Louisiana properties.
Louisiana is shaping up to be a very competitive sports betting market and for the most part it already ranks among the best jurisdictions in the US. Retail betting launched in Louisiana earlier this year and mobile betting went live on Friday, January 28. The first wave of sportsbooks to enter Louisiana were all set to go on Friday morning including Penn National Gaming’s Barstool Sportsbook , Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers Sportsbook brand and Caesars Entertainment’s Caesars Sportsbook and BetMGM. You can probably guess the next two brands that have set up shop in Louisiana–and, yes, we’re going to make you wait on the second one. Also joining the party in the ‘Pelican State’ (I should trademark that) is Flutter plc’s ubiquitous sports betting brand FanDuel. FanDuel is launching in Louisiana in partnership with Boyd Gaming, which owns five ‘brick & mortar’ properties in the state.
FanDuel now offers mobile betting in fourteen US states with the addition of Louisiana. They’re also available in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. As part of their partnership with Boyd Gaming, they’ve opened retail sportsbooks in the company’s Louisiana properties: Delta Downs in Vinton; Evangeline Downs in Opelousas; Treasure Chest in Kenner, near New Orleans; Sam’s Town in Shreveport; and Amelia Belle in Amelia. The FanDuel mobile app is now up and running in Louisiana and available for betting assuming you don’t live in one of nine backward’s parishes. FanDuel’s app was up bright and early on launch day, available starting at 8 AM Eastern on Friday.
The FanDuel app is offered under the sports betting license of the Treasure Chest in Kenner. Not sure what the terms of the deal between FanDuel and Boyd Gaming stipulates but assuming there’s no mobile exclusivity provision you’d have to think that Boyd could be looking to strike some mobile access deals with other companies. They operate their own app in Nevada, cleverly called ‘Boyd Sports’. This is partially due to the fact that FanDuel is persona non grata in Nevada–something that says more about the declining status of the Silver State’s gaming industry than it does about FanDuel. Logic suggests that if they’re looking to maximize revenue in Louisiana there’s no reason to let the mobile access of the other four properties go to waste.
Here’s the blurb from the press release detailing what Louisiana sports bettors can expect from the FanDuel app:
Offered under Treasure Chest’s sports-betting license, FanDuel Sportsbook is bringing its best-in-class online sports betting experience to the passionate sports fans of Louisiana, who will now be able to place wagers in 55 parishes across the state on professional and college football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, MMA, boxing, soccer, and tennis with a variety of betting and payment options available.
The press release goes on to list some of the features of the FanDuel app:
- New Way to Parlay: FanDuel is the only U.S. sportsbook with Same Game Parlay Plus, where players can combine Same Game Parlay™ bets from one game with bets from other games.
- An Innovative Spirit: FanDuel was the first U.S. sportsbook to offer Same Game Parlay™ bets, the first to offer live streaming of sporting events inside a betting app, the first to offer Bad Beat Relief, the first to offer early payouts for championship teams, and the first to offer its crowdsourced Spread the Love promotion.
- Absurdly Customer Focused: FanDuel Sportsbook offers safe and secure banking, lightning-fast payouts, a Cash-Out early feature, and 24/7 customer service.
- Sports Betting 101: FanDuel Sportsbook has an online betting guide to help customers learn the ins and outs of legal sports betting.
Curiously, there’s no quotes from representatives of either company in the press release. As a public service to the gaming industry, I’ll offer one in their place:
We’re pleased as punch to be launching our mobile app in Louisiana, home to some of the greatest sports fans anywhere. Whether it’s the LSU Tigers, the New Orleans Saints or the New Orleans Jazz…er….wait, they’re in Salt Lake City now…..or the New Orleans Pelicans, FanDuel is ready to throw down and party in the ‘Pelican State’ (TM). We couldn’t ask for a better partner than Boyd Gaming and invite everyone to visit the FanDuel retail sportsbooks in their five Louisiana casinos. Something something ‘fan engagement’ and something something ‘responsible gaming’.
To Boyd Gaming, Flutter plc and FanDuel–you’re welcome.
