FanDuel first to stream live games in sports betting app in U.S
FanDuel has signed a deal with Switzerland’s Sportradar AG to allow sports fans to place wagers on a game while they are watching it on a mobile app, company executives said on Monday, a first for the nascent U.S. sports betting market.
The deal is set to be officially announced on Tuesday after the service was rolled out late last week in New Jersey, where FanDuel, a unit of Irish bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair PLC, has the largest market share of all sportsbooks.
The deal highlights one way the media industry and the sports betting market are colliding, blurring the line for viewers who want to place a bet from their livestream.
Last May, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 1992 federal law that banned sports betting in all but a few places. That created a new market overnight, with eight states offering it and more expected.
So far, major U.S. media companies have trod cautiously, creating programming that includes sports betting content such as displaying odds – but without offering features to let viewers make bets while watching.
Most of the U.S. leagues staunchly opposed the legalization of sports betting until it became clear that consumer appetite for it had grown and the court was likely to overturn the ban.
“We’re trying to build the most engaging and entertaining sports betting experience in the U.S.,” said Niall Connell, general manager of the sportsbook at FanDuel Group.