Boyd Gaming trumpeted its digital reach to 30 million Americans via its slice of FanDuel as its land-based business navigated choppy trading affected by COVID-19.
Regional and Las Vegas locals casino operator Boyd Gaming said its 5% ownership of FanDuel would be worth up to $10m in sports-betting revenue share in 2020 after it unveiled its third-quarter results.
Under the terms of the strategic partnership announced in 2018, in return for sports-betting access across any state where Boyd is active the company received a 5% stake in FanDuel.
FanDuel has opened up in partnership with Boyd properties in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi and Indiana.
A bigger cake
Boyd chief executive Kevin Smith told analysts during the third-quarter call that the company’s chosen route of taking a slice of FanDuel, rather than control its own sports-betting business, was about the bottom line.
“Our focus was on creating cash flow and creating EBITDA and not building large infrastructure and incurring large losses to compete in this business,” he said.
The $8-$10m forecast doesn’t include one-time fees from selling on further skins.
The estimate also does not include potential online gaming revenues. Boyd said it hoped to launch an online gaming app again in conjunction with FanDuel in states that allow it soon.
Smith said Boyd was happy with its partnership and praised FanDuel’s status as a leading brand in the market. “It is worth tremendous amount of value to the company.”
“They have been a great partner. They have got great tech.”
“They are a leader in the business whether they are number one or number two in almost every state they operate in.”
Pole position
According to the Wedge Index, FanDuel is one of the leading brands in the US and commands four points for each state it operates in.
Smith added the FanDuel offering was working to educate more sports bettors in more states.
“They realize the quality of the app that FanDuel has, the quality of the offering, the ease of use, as well as just the number of different types of bets that you can make,” he said.
“I think that has helped and so as the customer becomes more sophisticated, we see an increasing number of customers coming to participate.”
