Gaming supplier Scientific Games was expected to announce a partnership agreement with sports-betting and fantasy sports giant FanDuel, under which SG would supply sports wagering and online gaming technology to FanDuel operations in the U.S. and globally.
A source familiar with the agreement told CDC Gaming Reports that under the deal, which was expected to be announced at last week’s ICE London trade show, Scientific Games would provide FanDuel with the company’s Openbet sports wagering technology platform, which is already being used by Flutter, FanDuel’s United Kingdom-based parent. Flutter operates sportsbooks under Paddy Power, Betfair, Sportsbet, FanDuel and Adjarabet.
Multiple reports emerged February 3 that FanDuel will move its online betting and casino products onto Scientific Games technology. The market reacted accordingly, with Scientific Games shares up 8 percent on the news.
Scientific Games released a statement on February 4 saying it has expanded its existing partnership with Flutter Entertainment to cover online and mobile sports betting and iGaming content offering with FanDuel in the United States. “OpenBet has been at the core of Flutter’s proprietary sports platform for over a decade in Europe,” the statement said, “and we look forward to expanding this partnership to the U.S. market.” FanDuel declined comment.
SB’s PlayTech might be another potential partner, but sources said no announcement is imminent and it was “business as usual” for FanDuel and its current partners. GAN provides FanDuel’s back-end platform, with IGT providing the sportsbook. Parent company Paddy Power and Betfair use some OpenBet technology in Europe.
An IGT spokesperson provided its own clarification statement, saying, “IGT maintains a successful and productive partnership with FanDuel for the U.S. sports betting market across six states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Indiana and West Virginia. We look forward to working with FanDuel on the sports betting opportunities of today and the future.”
While FanDuel is a clear U.S. market leader at this point, with nearly 50 percent share in Pennsylvania and New Jersey sports betting, it has faced issues such as several outages around major sporting events in recent months, a problem that might be fixed with a more stable platform.
FanDuel announced an agreement last month with Twin River Holdings to provide online sports betting in conjunction with the company’s three casinos in Colorado.
Scientific Games would become the leading back-of-the-house sports betting supplier in the U.S. through the deal with FanDuel.
