Draftkings looking for New Jersey partners

Daily fantasy sports giant DraftKings is reportedly “aggressively” seeking a New Jersey licensee to partner with in the event that the US Supreme Court nixes the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), thus legalising licensed sports betting in those states that wish to offer it.

The Forbes business publication reported this week that the company has hired a head of sportsbook (see previous report) and is looking to expand beyond the DFS vertical into the potentially lucrative world of sports betting.

It quotes DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, who said in a recent CNN interview: “It’s a huge market that has the opportunity to create lots of new players, lots of new revenue and really open up things in a way that they never have been before in the United States.”

The author of the Forbes piece appears to think that April 2 will be the big day for the Supreme Court decision announcement – the same day that the NCAA Men’s Basketball championship game will occur.

Referring to reports from the respected Eilers & Krejcik Gaming research firm, the piece observes that DraftKings seems to be doing more than simply building out a “Sportsbook” division with key hires internally, and is taking proactive measures to put itself in a strong position to leverage its user base and technology in the event of a PASPA demise.

It quotes from an E&K report that observes:

“Rumor has it that the daily fantasy sports leader is aggressively shopping for sports betting partnerships in the New Jersey market, positioning itself as a one-stop solution for land-based operators looking for a way to offer sports betting in the casino and online.

“Of course, the question of what technology DraftKings would bring to the table is an open one – it has no sports betting tech that we’re aware of – and leads to another rumor that’s been floating around as of late: that the company is close to a deal with a major B2B provider to provide DraftKings with an in-house sports betting platform (whether that’s indefinitely or until DraftKings develops something of its own is another unknown).”

DraftKings did not respond to an invitation to comment by Forbes.