Churchill Downs Joins Up with FanDuel
Popular supplier of horse-racing and casinos, Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI), has stepped into a content and sponsorship agreement with Flutter-owned FanDuel. The multi-year deal covers multiple aspects of FanDuel’s operations – including its sports wagering, advance deposits wagering (ADW), and television verticals. US-based FanDuel players can now also place bets on horse racing content at a CDI establishment.
Horse-racing and casinos operator Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has announced that it has entered into a content and sponsorship agreement with Flutter-owned sportsbook giant FanDuel. ©EvgeniT/Pixabay
FanDuel Can Broadcast Churchill Downs Content on its TV Network
Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI), a prominent horse-racing and casino provider in the United States, has revealed that it has just finished finalizing a comprehensive content and sponsorship agreement together with Flutter-owned FanDuel.
The agreement, which comes in the form of a multi-year deal, encompasses several different aspects of FanDuel’s empire, such as its sports wagering, advance deposits wagering (ADW) and television verticals. The details of the deal specify that Churchill Downs Incorporation (CDI) will furnish B2B technology and services to FanDuel’s sportsbook’s pari-mutual wagers on horse racing features.
More relevant news for FanDuel fans located in the US is the fact that they will now gain the ability to place bets on horse racing content at a CDI location. The deal will also provide FanDuel with access to broadcast CDI content on the operator’s recently established television network, while also allowing for provisions which will grant FanDuel non-exclusive Kentucky Derby sponsorship rights.
It is worth mentioning that United Tote, which is a Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) subsidiary, will be the entity paid by FanDuel to facilitate the pari-mutual wagering sections of the agreement. CDI has previously entered into an agreement to sell 49% of United Tote to the New York Racing Association. The deal is anticipated to be wrapped up by the close of the year 2022.
Both Business Welcome Deal; Look Forward to a Bright Future Together
Speaking on the occasion of Churchill Downs Incorporated’s deal with FanDuel, CEO Amy Howe greatly welcomed the news, seeing promise in the prospect of integrating CDI’s offering into FanDuel’s ecosystem:
“With the launch of FanDuel TV last week and the upcoming integration of premier racing content into our market-leading sports book, we believe this is an inflection point in our ability to offer our customers a seamless wagering experience with a single wallet.”– Amy Howe, CEO, FanDuel Group, Press Release
Howe then went on to highlight in particular the Kentucky Derby as an especially exciting part of the deal, also hoping that horse racing will bring in new audiences for the operator:
“We are especially pleased that we will be able to offer wagering on the most exciting two minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby, and that we will have exclusive broadcast rights to the Churchill Downs Incorporated family of tracks on FanDuel TV. We look forward to creating new audiences for horse racing.”
For its part, Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) CEO Bill Carstanjen expressed confidence that FanDuel’s deep expertise and extensive network will also deliver the provider new fans:
“We look forward to working with FanDuel to deliver premium horse racing content to their expansive base of sports wagering customers. We are confident that FanDuel’s market approach teamed with our expertise and technology will seamlessly deliver horse racing content and pari-mutuel wagering solutions to a significant number of new fans.”– Bill Carstanjen, CEO, Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI), Press Release
FanDuel Picked New Chief Legal Officer in August 2022
Keeping the focus on FanDuel, in August 2022, the major sports betting giant announced the appointment of Carolyn Renzin to the position of Chief Legal Officer. Renzin is also expected to simultaneously continue her previous role as the group’s Chief Compliance Officer, with the new role increasing her day-to-day tasks and responsibilities.
Renzin’s new roles will involve a whole slew of new responsibilities, such as being in charge of legal, risk, regulatory engagement, compliance, and responsible gaming duties for FanDuel. These should surely be of little challenge to Renzin, seeing as she previously acted as Assistant General Counsel at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., serving as a regulatory litigator following the 2008 financial crisis in the Office of the General Counsel.
Recently appointed president of FanDuel Group, Christian Genetski, highlighted Renzin’s past experience and achievements in a shared statement:
“Carolyn is a passionate, bright, empathetic, and extremely hard-working leader and colleague. In her time at FanDuel, she has led transformative change for our business in building out a regulatory and compliance function benefitting the current and future scale of our company and I’m confident she is the right choice to lead our high-performing lead team going forward.”– Christian Genetski, President, FanDuel Group, Press Release
Sportsbook Giant Launched New TV Ad in June 2022
FanDuel is looking to win over the hearts, minds, and eyes of American sports betting fans this year, having launched in June 2022 a new television spot, which features renowned golfers Abraham Ancer, Will Zalatoris, Harold Varner III, and current FanDuel PGA TOUR partner Jordan Spieth.
The television ad began airing during 2022’s U.S. Open tennis tournament and is scheduled to remain on air until at least February 2023. The operator claimed that the television ad is evidence of “FanDuel’s continued growth with the PGA TOUR relationship, leaning into FanDuel’s commitment to talent.”
The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of FanDuel Group, Mike Raffensperger, justified the move by asserting that golf is one of the more popular sports on FanDuel’s platform, with the operator even seeking to grow its PGA TOUR presence:
“Golf continues to be one of the fastest-growing sports on our platform and, as we greatly value our partnership with the PGA TOUR, we are excited to grow our PGA TOUR program. Jordan has already been a fantastic partner and we look forward to expanding our golf ambassador roster with the addition of Abe Ancer, Will Zalatoris, and Harold Varner III.”
