Sports betting giant comes to Colorado

Sports betting and daily fantasy sports giant DraftKings is coming to Colorado after it signed a deal with Twin River Worldwide to launch digital and retail betting options.

Twin River’s newly acquired Mardi Gras Casino will be home to the retail outlet, while online and mobile gaming will be offered throughout the state.

With Colorado sports betting in its early stages, the DraftKings-Twin River deal is one of the first partnerships to be announced.

New business opportunity

Twin River Worldwide recently acquired three properties in Colorado, namely the Mardi Gras, Golden Gulch, and Golden Gates casinos in Black Hawk.

Company president and chief executive George Papanier said Twin River is excited about the new agreement with DraftKings. According to Papanier, it will allow the brand to bring sports betting to the Denver market through online options as well as the retail outlet at the newly owned casino.

DraftKings’ chief business officer Ezra Kucharz said of the partnership:

we look forward to working alongside them to introduce Colorado sports fans to our award-winning product.”

Twin River has also signed a similar deal with FanDuel. However, it will only see mobile gaming being provided.

Colorado will be the sixth US state to offer DraftKings’ online and mobile sports betting once regulatory and licensing approvals are finalized. The brand already operates in Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Applications rolling in

According to VSO News, already more than 50 businesses have registered their applications to obtain a sports betting license. More than half of the applications submitted belong to casinos currently operating in the state.

Interested parties had to pay a $10,000 application deposit. The gaming commission has the ability to grant temporary permits to operators while they await permanent approval.