Washington D.C.’s Major League Soccer (MLS) team D.C. United has announced a long-term, exclusive partnership with sports betting and daily fantasy operator FanDuel.
The deal sees FanDuel become the team’s exclusive sports betting partner, and includes plans to open a FanDuel-branded retail sportsbook at its home stadium, Audi Field, in 2021.
This is the operators’s first sponsorship of an MLS team, and its presence in Audi Field will be its first in-stadium sportsbook.
As permitted by Washington, D.C.’s sports betting regulations, mobile betting will be allowed within a designated exclusivity zone around the venue.
The operator has signed several deals in other sports during 2020, including a multi-year NBA agreement with sports media company Turner Sports, as well as becoming an official sports betting operator of the PGA Tour.
“D.C. United is looking forward to the opportunity of working with a first-rate operator in this new and exciting space,” the team’s chief strategy office Sam Porter said.
“The FanDuel Sportsbook is best-in-class and we believe their expertise, technology, and product will provide our fans, guests at Audi Field, and the Buzzard Point neighborhood a full-slate of entertainment options.”
FanDuel’s chief executive Matt King added: “As we continue to expand our nationwide footprint, joining forces with one of the MLS’ most iconic clubs allows us to bring America’s #1 Sportsbook to the nation’s capital,”
“We’re partnering with D.C. United to elevate the fan experience at Audi Field and bring the DMV area an in-person sports gaming experience other parts of the US have come to know and love from FanDuel.”
FanDuel currently operates 12 retail sportsbooks in 9 states. Of these, it also provides mobile sports betting in Illinois, West Virginia, Iowa, Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in addition to Colorado.
In September, results for the state-owned DC Lottery’s Gambet app saw revenues increase 53.3% month-on-month, as bettors wagered $3.3m and received $2.8m in winnings.
The figures were dwarfed by William Hill’s results in the state, though, as customers wagered $12.2m at its retail sportsbook at the Capital One Arena, up 33.5% month-on-month and generating revenue of $1.3m.