DraftKings Getting Into Horse Racing With DK Horse App

Although there are plenty of different sports betting operators in the market nowadays, DraftKings has remained one of the most popular. Part of the reason that DraftKings is one of the top names in sports betting is its wide focus across different types of wagering. Many remember that DraftKings got its start as a daily fantasy sports app, competing with FanDuel for the top spot in the world of DFS.

Then, the release of a standard sports betting site in DraftKings Sportsbook as well as an online casino in DraftKings Casino have shown that the platform is willing to expand into new types of wagering. However, unlike some of its competitors, DraftKings hadn’t put much focus on horse racing outside of its free-to-play pools. Well, that’s all about to change thanks to a teamup with Churchill Downs. With the DK Horse platform coming soon, here’s everything you need to know.

DraftKings Teaming Up With Churchill Downs To Release DK Horse

It’s just been announced that horse racing and casino giant Churchill Downs Incorporated and DraftKings have collaborated on a new deal that will add horse racing to the online betting platform. This deal will add pari-mutuel betting to DraftKings as well as advance deposit wagering through the Churchill Downs-owned horse racing platform TwinSpires.

The teamup will result in the rollout of the DK Horse betting app, which is expected to be released before the Kentucky Derby in May of 2023 and launch in 21 states to start out. Although you should be able to use one account across DK Horse and other DraftKings apps in the future, you’ll have to deposit funds in a separate account to start out.

This news concludes what has been a busy month for DraftKings, which has seen the launch of DraftKings Sportsbook Maryland thanks to its recent sports betting launch as well as the start of the World Cup and the college basketball season.

DraftKings Continues To Battle The Competition

The decision to expand into horse racing definitely makes sense when you consider the current competition in sports betting. Back in July, it was reported by iGaming Next that DraftKings Sportsbook was second in U.S. sports betting gross gaming revenue with 20.2%. This was outpaced by FanDuel Sportsbook, which saw nearly 47%, with other competitors such as BetMGM Sportsbook at 14.1% and Caesars Sportsbook at 7.5%.

While this is merely on the sports betting side, each of these platforms has also diversified their offerings, with the three main competitors also offering online casinos and FanDuel also starting out as a DFS platform.

Plus, the three main sports betting operators that are in competition with DraftKings already offer horse racing apps with FanDuel Racing, BetMGM Horse Racing, and Caesars Racebook. FanDuel has an especially interesting background with horse racing, as seen with the recent rebranding of horse racing channel TVG as FanDuel TV. In an online betting landscape that continues to be competitive, all eyes will be on the rollout of DK Horse and if it brings more bettors to the DraftKings family of platforms.