Two days after completing the acquisition of three Colorado casinos, Twin River Worldwide Holdings said it has deals in place with two partners to launch online and retail sports betting operations in the state.
Rhode Island-based Twin River said Monday FanDuel Sportsbook and Draft Kings Sportsbook will provide mobile and online sports betting through two of the three licenses acquired by Twin River from Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming.
Twin River paid $51 million for the Golden Gates, Golden Gulch and Mardi Gras casinos in Black Hawk, Colorado, which serves the Denver market. Twin River also owns the Arapahoe Park racetrack near Denver.
In a statement, DraftKings said it will also open a retail sportsbook at the Mardi Gras Casino. Colorado is expected to launch sports betting by May.
Financial terms for the two sports betting agreements were not disclosed. Twin River will retain the third license for its own future use.
Colorado will become the fifth state where the FanDuel Sportsbook platform will be available and is the sixth state to offer the DraftKings’ Sportsbook platform. Currently, sports betting is legal in 14 states with another half-dozen states and Washington D.C. expected to launch the activity this year.
Twin River currently has sports betting operations at its casinos in Rhode Island and Mississippi.
“Obtaining the right to three sports gaming licenses in Colorado will expand our footprint in the state well beyond our Arapahoe Park racetrack and off-track betting network,” Twin River CEO George Papanier said in a statement.
Following regulatory approval, Colorado will become the six state where DraftKings operates a retail location, joining Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York.
“Twin River holds a mutual pledge to providing exciting, real-time gaming opportunities, and we look forward to working alongside them to introduce Colorado sports fans to our award-winning product,” said DraftKings Chief Business Officer Ezra Kucharz.
Colorado voters approved sports betting last November and regulations are being drafted to cover both retail sportsbooks and online/mobile wagering.
FanDuel CEO Matt King called Colorado’s sports betting plans “a sensible framework” and the company was happy to partner with Twin River.
#exclusive – Twin River signs sports betting deals with DraftKings and FanDuel for its Colorado casinos. –@howardstutz, CDC Gaming. https://t.co/XE6T4CQklQ #CDCgaming
— CDC Gaming (@CDCNewswire) January 27, 2020
“Twin River has been engaged in sports betting since the beginning in Rhode Island and Mississippi, and they are an ideal partner as we continue to enter states that open up online and mobile sports betting,” King said.
Combined, the three Colorado casinos have 36,000 square feet of gaming space with 20 table games, 700 slot machines and a poker parlor. The properties have three restaurants and bars, and one of the only parking garages in the market with 700 spaces.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
