The NBA has signed a third gaming partnership, and second in just a week, aligning with longtime partner FanDuel in a new multiyear agreement. The league has expanded its partnership with FanDuel, its official daily fantasy partner since ’14, to make the Paddy Power Betfair subsidiary also an authorized gaming operator of the league. FanDuel will have access to official NBA betting data, as well as league marks and logos, similar to the deal the NBA recently signed with Toronto-based online gaming company The Stars Group. The NBA, which had been the first pro league to partner with FanDuel, earlier this year divested the equity it previously held in the company following Paddy Power Betfair’s acquisition of FanDuel. But in the new deal structure, FanDuel will continue to operate the official daily fantasy games of the NBA and WNBA, mobile-based fantasy games and operate in the newly expanded sports betting landscape in partnership with the league. “We have a long history with FanDuel, and are pleased to still be working with them,” said NBA Head of Fantasy & Gaming Scott Kaufman-Ross. “We now partnered with a major casino operator in MGM, and internationally based outfit in The Stars Group, and a daily fantasy operator in FanDuel. These are each key categories of operators we were looking to address.”
BEING AGGRESSIVE: Both NBA and FanDuel expect a large amount of cross-marketing and data interplay between DFS activity through the company and sports betting. “Because of their presence in DFS, that definitely opens the door for all sorts of creative approaches,” Kaufman-Ross said. FanDuel has also been a particularly active player in recent months in New Jersey, one of the key early states for legal sports betting activity. The trio of gaming deals in less than five months highlights the NBA’s continued aggressiveness in the fast-emerging space, and more deals with additional gaming operators are expected.
