Major League Baseball Names FanDuel an Official Sports Betting Partner

Grant Leonard

Last Updated: March 3, 2023 9:46 AM EST • 2 min 43 sec read. Twitter link Google News Link

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 26: Fans walk past a Fanduel sports betting location at Footprint Center before Game Five of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs between the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans on April 26, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Christian Petersen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The most popular sportsbook in America has secured a partnership with the country’s oldest professional sports league.

FanDuel and Major League Baseball (MLB) announced a multi-year partnership Thursday that makes the sportsbook a co-exclusive official sports betting partner of the league. In this partnership, FanDuel will receive the rights to use official MLB branding in its products, marketing campaigns, and category destinations including FanDuel’s sportsbook, daily fantasy sports, and FanDuel Faceoff platforms.

FanDuel will also begin streaming MLB.TV’s Free Game Of The Day through the FanDuel sportsbook app and OTT streaming service FanDuel+. The company will have the right to use highlights both in product and as part of original programming on FanDuel TV, as well.

“Our team is eager to showcase FanDuel in nationally broadcast MLB games and help enhance game narratives and bring America's Pastime directly into our mobile app and OTT platform for fans to watch and wager," FanDuel president Christian Genetski said in a statement.

FanDuel has been an Authorized Gaming Operator of the MLB since 2019.

MLB continues to embrace sports betting

FanDuel is just the latest in a string of notable sports betting sites getting involved in baseball:

BetMGM is also a co-exclusive official sports betting partner to MLB. BetMGM originally struck a deal with the league in 2018 and became MLB’s first official gaming sponsor. The operator renewed its partnership in July 2022, and the pact also includes domestic marketing on MLB Network, MLB.com, and MLB’s portfolio of apps. BetMGM also opened the first retail sportsbook connected to an MLB ballpark when it launched at Nationals Park in January 2022.
Caesars Sportsbook opened in the left-field corner of the Mets’ Citi Field for the 2022 season.
DraftKings is preparing to open a retail sportsbook at historic Wrigley Field in time for the 2023 Cubs’ campaign.
Back in 2020, PointsBet became the first sportsbook to secure an MLB team sponsorship with a multi-year agreement with the Detroit Tigers.
Bet365 announced a partnership with the Cleveland Guardians in January 2023 to kick off its foray into the newly launched Ohio sports betting market.

Genetski said that “the baseball fan is one of the most engaged in all of sports.”

FanDuel’s deal will give baseball fans even more ways to engage with their favorite sport, especially since integrating live streams within the FanDuel sportsbook app will give fans, as Genetski also said, “the opportunity to enhance their experience on every pitch from March through October.”

FanDuel still dominating U.S. sports betting

Suggesting that FanDuel is the best of the best sportsbooks in the United States is no longer just a boisterous flex, it’s a fact.

This new partnership with MLB comes amid considerable financial growth for FanDuel. Flutter Entertainment - which owns the sportsbook and is the world’s largest online sports betting firm - released its preliminary results for 2022, confirming its US operation generated $3.2 billion in revenue – an 87% year-over-year uptick.

FanDuel’s recent launches in the Ohio and Maryland sports betting markets represent its most successful to date. Sports betting in Ohio just launched on January 1 and posted an over $1 billion handle in its first month of legal wagering. FanDuel accounts for 45% of the market share in Ohio, taking in over $494 million in bets and generating over $103 million in revenue.

2023 has been super strong for the operator overall, with more than 1.2 million customer acquisitions so far. FanDuel is statistically the No. 1 sportsbook in America in terms of market share at 50% too. It’s licensed in 19 states and is preparing to go live in the Massachusetts sports betting market when online sports betting launches there on March 10.

Perhaps most impressively, FanDuel holds the most market share in the biggest market in the US - New York sports betting. The Empire State continues to set new wagering handle records and collected nearly $2 billion in bets in January, with over 40% of those being cast from FanDuel.

In conclusion, it looks like this is FanDuel’s world – and we’re all just living in it. With the numbers mentioned above, you may already be betting on its platform. If you’re not, this FanDuel promo code is one of the most generous betting promotions available.

Written By:
Grant Leonard

Grant is a former junior B ice hockey player, and a current believer that the Washington Capitals’ aging core still has another Cup run left in the tank. Grant’s owned and operated his own marketing agency since shortly after graduating from Virginia Tech in 2014. He pursued the profession because he figured it’d be a great way to get paid to do something he loves to do, write. After years of hammering puck lines and leading his fantasy football league as Commissioner, Grant started writing about sports betting and the casino gaming industry in 2021 and hasn’t looked back.