PaddyPower: Meadowlands’ FanDuel Sports Book Now One of Biggest Worldwide

Posted on: November 4, 2018, 12:00h. 

Last updated on: November 4, 2018, 04:56h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

The FanDuel sports book at the Meadowlands Racetrack, North Jersey, is exceeding the expectations of its parent company, Paddy Power Betfair (PPB), which on Friday upgraded its full-year profit forecast, largely as a response to the betting outlet’s performance.

FanDuel Sports book
The FanDuel Sports Book at the Meadowlands racetrack has been generating $1.5 million in bets per day, with more than 30 percent of customers coming from New York State, PPB said. (Image: FanDuel Group)

Meadowlands is a stone’s throw from the MetLife Stadium — home to the New York Giants and Jets — each of which attract more than 70,000 engaged sports fans to their home games. Meanwhile, as part of the New York metropolitan area, the book is situated within the largest urban landmass in the world and the most populous area of the US.

PPB said it estimated some 30 percent of bets were coming from New York State residents.

$1.5 Million Per Day

Since its launch in July — or, more accurately, since the start of the NFL in September — this has been a recipe for success for PPB. In a trading update on Friday, the company said the sports book generated more than $1.5 million in bets per day in October, making it “one of the biggest sports betting outlets in the world.”

The bookmaker now expects full-year earnings to come in between ￡465 million ($604 million) and ￡480 million ($623 million) — up from between ￡460 million ($597 million) and ￡480 million previously.

“[The sportsbook’s] performance reflects the property’s prominent location, … customer proposition and the strength of the FanDuel brand,” said PPB.

The next year couple of years are likely to be the sports book’s golden period, before New York State enacts laws to regulate sports wagering, as it will attempt to do next year.

No Cannibalization of DFS

PPB acquired FanDuel in July, shortly after the US Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on state-sanctioned sports betting paving the way for the liberalization of the US market. It wanted a strong, recognizable brand with which to launch its assault on the market, as well as FanDuel’s existing extensive DFS customer database.

The operator said a “significant percentage” of sports betting sign-ups came from this existing pool of customers and almost half were previously inactive DFS customers.

Crucially, though, there was “no indication of cannibalization” of DFS revenues since the advent of sports betting. DFS operations. “ DSF operations “continued good customer acquisition and New Jersey player activity levels [were] performing in line with national trends,” PPB said.

Despite the success of the sports book at Meadowlands, the company believes the key US market opportunity is online. Internet betting handle in New Jersey was 40 percent higher than the retail operation, it said.