FanDuel Group Partners with Fairmount Race Track in Illinois
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On Monday, Fairmount Race Track announced that they would be partnering with FanDuel Sportsbook and renaming Fairmount to FanDuel Sportsbook and Racetrack. FanDuel agrees to help renovate the 95-year-old race track in Collinsville, about 15 miles from the Illinois-Missouri border just outside St. Louis.
“We are delighted to partner with Fairmount Park to continue bringing high-quality horse racing and soon additional entertainment experiences via our sportsbook to the region,” said Matt King, Chief Executive Officer of FanDuel Group. “Fairmount is an iconic state landmark which we plan to modernize bringing innovative technology and entertainment offerings only FanDuel can deliver.”
FanDuel was initially looking to purchase Fairmount as a way to enter the Illinois sports betting market early. However, Fairmount had issues obtaining a sports betting license from the Illinois Gaming Board. Now, they have the license, and FanDuel is looking to take over the historic Illinois racetrack.
FanDuel’s Big Move
FanDuel entered the Illinois market in late-August, partnering with Par-A-Dice Casino in Peoria. This was not the planned move for the sports betting operator, as the original plan was to partner with Fairmount. However, there were issues with obtaining licenses by the IGB, and FanDuel had to scramble to find a new partner to enter the Land of Lincoln.
However, now that Fairmount received a sports betting license, FanDuel is taking over the historic race track and renaming it FanDuel Sportsbook and Racetrack. FanDuel will be putting up $250,000 to help renovate the facility and give it a more modern look.
The move will help grow FanDuel’s market share in Illinois and help another sportsbook enter the Illinois market. Par-A-Dice Casino already has a sports betting license, so it might not be too long until another betting operator takes over Par-A-Dice.
Overall, this was most likely FanDuel’s plan the entire time. It needed to enter the Illinois market to get bettors to sign-up with the possibility that Gov. J.B. Pritzker could withdraw his executive order to allow remote sports betting registration. Now they are in and moving to the place the sportsbook originally had in mind.
How Does this Help FanDuel
FanDuel has been great about finding high populated locations when entering new states. However, it wasn’t easy with the Par-A-Dice location as the casino is in the middle of the state, two hours outside of Chicago and St. Louis.
Now, FanDuel will be in the St. Louis suburbs taking advantage of the southern Illinois market. The move will also help FanDuel grow its market share in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois released its September betting report last week, which showed FanDuel having the third largest betting handle in the state.
Now, they should grow that even more thanks to the move to the St. Louis suburbs. This will take advantage of the betting market in the southern part of the state, including St. Louis, which has a population of over 300,000. Add in the surrounding suburbs, and FanDuel’s handle should jump when the November and December revenue reports are released.
Overall, this is the move FanDuel originally wanted, and now they have it to only better the Illinois betting market.
