Online sports betting and daily fantasy sports giant DraftKings is partnering with Churchill Downs Inc., a giant in the sport of kings, in the creation of the horse racing betting app DK HORSE. These two companies are combining their scope of betting expertise and entering into a multi-year agreement that will bring pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing to DraftKings.
CDI’s subsidiary, TwinSpires, will be providing advance deposit wagering (ADW) technology to DraftKings. TwinSpires is the premier, market leader among online horse racing betting platforms in the USA.
How DK Horse App Will Work
The DK HORSE app will be a standalone product, separate from DraftKings sports betting app and their DFS operation. Horse players will be required to open up a separate account with DK HORSE that won’t be linked to their sports betting, online casino or DFS one wallet account.
“We are excited to collaborate with Churchill Downs Incorporated, not only to give our existing customers an opportunity to engage with pari-mutuel horse wagering but also to acquire new customers efficiently during marquee horse racing moments,” DraftKings CEO and chairman of the board Jason Robins said in a statement.
Plans on how they intend to integrate DK HORSE Bet App into the DraftKings product suite will be announced at a later date.
When Will DK HORSE Launch?
Expectations are that DK HORSE will be available to bettors across 21 U.S. states. Of course, this is pending all necessary licensing and regulatory approvals. Plans are for the DK HORSE app to be up and operational well in advance of the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby in May 2023.
“Due to the structure of the agreement, we expect this new product offering to be immediately profitable,” Robins said.
As part of the agreement, Churchill Downs Inc. will provide DraftKings pari-mutuel wagering rights to horse racing content owned or controlled by CDI. These will include the track’s signature events, the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. CDI will also secure, on behalf of DraftKings, additional horse racing content for use on DK Horse.
It should be a win-win for both companies. DraftKings will be entering into another area of sports betting that was completely off the radar prior to this agreement. It also enables DraftKings to keep pace with rival FanDuel.
Flutter Entertainment, owners of FanDuel, acquired prominent ADW site TVG in 2009. Last year, the company rebranded the TVG cable TV channel FanDuel TV, changing it from a 24-hour horse racing channel into a round-the-clock sports betting network. A second channel, TVG2, was launched to cater to horse racing.
In September, CDI reached an agreement with FanDuel to provide its racing content to their site. As part of that agreement, CDI, through its United Tote subsidiary, is providing certain technology and services to FanDuel, enabling FanDuel’s customers to place pari-mutuel wagers on horse racing via FanDuel’s sports wagering and advance-deposit wagering platforms, which would be TVG on the ADW side.
CDI also authorized wagering on Churchill Downs and other CDI-owned or controlled horse racing content via FanDuel’s platforms in the United States. They also granted FanDuel certain television and media rights to broadcast CDI-owned racing content on FanDuel’s television networks. As well, FanDuel became a non-exclusive sponsor of the Kentucky Derby as a sports betting partner. This partnership goes into effect in January of 2023.
With DK Horse, Churchill Downs is gaining another opportunity to expand its TwinSpires audience dramatically by tapping into the massive pool of the DraftKings betting base. Last year, TwinSpires ceased operations of their online sports betting site, choosing to return their focus 100% to horse racing.
“We believe the depth and quality of our online offering through TwinSpires is unmatched in horse racing,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “We are excited to establish this relationship with DraftKings and to deliver a full end-to-end white label ADW solution that will introduce their significant base of sports betting customers to horse racing wagering.”
5 Alternatives to DraftKings Horse Betting App
- Amwager
- TVG
- Twinspired
- DRF Bets
- Nyra Bet
Promotions
- MATCH200
- New customers only.
- 200TVG
