FanDuel makes moves into sports betting market in West Virginia

FanDuel, the popular fantasy sports company, has signed a deal with The Greenbrier in West Virginia.

The popular and exclusive resort describes itself as “Monte Carlo meets Gone With the Wind”, the former referencing the popular casino in Monaco and the latter referencing Margaret Mitchell’s iconic American novel set in the south of the United States.

The Greenbrier has a casino and FanDuel will provide an outlet for sports betting there.

The resort has a major connection to professional sports already. The Greenbrier Classic is a stop on the PGA Tour.

The news of FanDuel offering sports betting at The Greenbrier has hit the headlines just as final preparations are being made for the tournament. The 2018 event will start on July 2nd.

Late in the summer the resort will also host an exhibition tournament called the Greenbrier Champions Tennis Classic. The stars that are listed as confirmed are Grand Slam winners Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Carlos Moya (retired), and Marat Safin (retired). Furthermore, Grand Slam runner-ups Marcos Baghdatis and Kevin Anderson are expected at the mid-September event.

But FanDuel, in a recent statement, did not reference either golf or tennis. Rather, they appear to be focused on NFL football later this year.

“We are honoured to be chosen to provide sports wagering services at the Greenbrier, an iconic resort in the US.” a spokesperson for FanDuel stated,

“As we work towards building out a top sports betting product for the upcoming NFL season, we look forward to bringing West Virginia residents, sports fans, and visitors to the Greenbrier the best interactive sports experience on the market.”

The statement sounds as though FanDuel’s sports betting is a work-in-progress, as opposed to anything that will be available imminently.

The agreement between the Greenbrier and FanDuel is a landmark deal for the latter as it is the first time the company will break away from fantasy sports. FanDuel follows DraftKings into the market, another company that is getting into sports betting after years of serving fantasy sports fans.

The two industries are unquestionably related as both involve customers staking money and then making sports predictions with potential returns that exceed their original stakes.