FanDuel is officially coming to Kentucky. The state’s largest horse racing company, Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), will partner with FanDuel Sportsbook for its Kentucky sports betting operation. The partnership will include both a retail and a mobile sports betting license.
A FanDuel spokesperson confirmed the partnership with PlayKentucky on Thursday.
Kentucky sports bettors can look forward to a FanDuel Kentucky platform when the online sports betting makes its official launch later this year.
If you’re already in a state in which FanDuel has launched its sports betting app, you can claim a great bonus offer with today’s FanDuel Promo Code.
FanDuel Kentucky’s Deal with Churchill Downs Has Been in the Works for a While
CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen told WDRB.com in April that Churchill Downs planned a FanDuel partnership for sports betting. But last week was the first time either company confirmed the partnership.
We’re still waiting for details on the deal. Of the nine horse tracks in Kentucky, CDI owns four: Churchill Downs (historic home of the Kentucky Derby), Ellis Park, Turfway Park, and Oak Grove.
It’s unclear whether the partnership with FanDuel extends to all four tracks or just Churchill Downs.
Other Churchill Downs Sportsbook Partnerships are Likely
Kentucky’s sports betting legislation was signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear at the end of March. The law now allows for each track in Kentucky to partner with up to three online sports betting operators.
That means that each of CDI’s tracks could have up to three, for a total of twelve. It’s likely they will at least partner with a few other operators through its four tracks.
CDI already has a racing partnership (separate from a mobile sportsbook) with both FanDuel and DraftKings. The FanDuel deal signals that they may be working on a similar deal with DraftKings Kentucky.
The other major sportsbooks that take the lion’s share of the market in most states are Caesars Sportsbook and BetMGM. It’s possible CDI is looking into partnerships with those operators, as well.
Other Kentucky Sportsbooks in the Works?
Kentucky is expected to launch several online and retail sportsbooks before the end of 2023. The Kentucky sports betting bill allows for 27 online sports betting operators.
So far, FanDuel’s partnership with Churchill Downs is the second sportsbook partnership announced in the state. The first Kentucky sportsbook deal made Caesars Sportsbook the official sports betting partner of Keeneland and Red Mile. Caesars will offer a Caesars-branded retail sportsbook at Red Mile and mobile sports betting.
In terms of other sports betting partnerships to expect for Kentucky, both DraftKings and BetMGM are expected to announce deals soon.
Sandy’s Racing & Gaming will likely announce a partnership next. Their VP of Government Relations, Conor Lucas, told PlayKentucky last week that its sportsbook would be ready to open in October, along with historical horse racing machines.
Lucas said they were in “final negotiations” with a sports betting partner and that he wanted the operator to be one of “those big four” — i.e., DraftKings, BetMGM, FanDuel, and Caesars.
