Daily fantasy sports giant DraftKings has been quietly building a team of Las Vegas gaming leaders to oversee a sports betting operation.
On Monday, the company announced it hired longtime Wynn Resorts sportsbook director Johnny Avello as director of operations. But Avello is not alone.
LegalSportsReport.com also reported Monday that sports betting leaders Frank Kunovic (Caesars) and Jamie Shea (IGT) left their positions to join DraftKings.
Meanwhile, SportsHandle.com confirmed Ed Malinowski, sports and racebook executive at the Stratosphere, had resigned from his post. SportsHandle said Malinowski, with more than a decade in an executive role in the Southern Nevada sportsbook industry, will join Avello at DraftKings in a leadership role.
Avello, 65, has spent 13 years at Wynn and has been involved in Las Vegas sports betting operations since the 1970s. He will have an initial role with DraftKings with oversight of retail sportsbook trading and risk management, according to a statement.
DraftKings announced plans earlier this year to enter the race and sports book industry follow’s May’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed all U.S. states to legalize and regulate sports betting. The company has a sports betting deal with Resorts Atlantic City but is concentrating primarily on mobile sports wagering for now. In August, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement gave DraftKings and Resorts the green light to offer online and mobile sports betting.
DraftKings became the first operator to go live with a mobile sports wagering application in the state.
Avello is expected to help DraftKings establish its land-based sports betting operations.
DraftKings was one of the giants of the daily fantasy sports universe along with FanDuel when Nevada gaming regulators said in October 2015 the activity meant the state’s definition of sports betting and the company needed to apply for a state gaming license. Both companies declined to apply, and they were no longer allowed to offer the product within Nevada borders.
A month earlier, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins participated in a panel discussion at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas that debated daily fantasy sports. Robins said the activity was a game of skill, similar to chess or playing the stock market.
In November 2016, the state’s Gaming Policy Committee, chaired by Governor Brian Sandoval, agreed with the ruling no changes were made to the state’s gaming regulations.
Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi and West Virginia have launched state-approved sports betting at casinos and racetracks. Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are expected to soon follow.
LegalSportsReport.com and SportsHandle.com contributed
