FanDuel To Live Stream NHL Games Within App

FanDuel has announced a historic live streaming agreement with the National Hockey League (NHL).

As a result, the gambling and fantasy sports giant will be able to stream up to two regular-season games daily in states where online sports betting is legal and within its mobile wagering app.

The games will be made available to customers who have either placed a wager on the game to be streamed or have a funded sportsbook account.

However, national and local blackout restrictions will still apply and likely result is that the most popular teams in the five states where FanDuel is live, which now includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, Colorado, and West Virginia – will not be shown on the app.

Nevertheless, for those of us who like to bet on hockey, follow hockey stats and watch live games, this is a real boon.

.@FDSportsbook will now offer live streaming of NHL games directly within the app as part of a new partnership with IMG Arena.

The times, they are a-changin’ pic.twitter.com/uhAviMVAmi

— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkesESPN) March 2, 2020

IGM Arena & NHL agree US extension

The deal was created in partnership with IMG Arena, the sports betting arm of data firm IMG Agency, which announced last month that it had secured the rights to provide U.S. sportsbook operators with live streams of select out-of-market NHL games.

IMG has been combining live games with live wagering in Europe for some time, mainly for soccer and tennis. It’s the latter sport that has provided FanDuel with its first foray into the live betting space, allowing it to stream the Australian Open for the past two years while offering in-game wagering.

FanDuel & NHL deal a natural progression

Last November, FanDuel announced their sports betting partnership with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, which included giving spectators at the Prudential Center in-arena access to the operator’s app for in-game betting options.

Around the same time, the NHL announced that FanDuel was to become a sports betting partner of the league, giving the operator access to the league’s real-time game data feed, as well as its official daily fantasy sports partner.

For NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, the latest live streaming deal was a natural progression of the league’s partnerships in the sports wagering space.

“Once we made the jump to allowing our brand to be associated with sports betting companies, this was not a far leap. We’re supplying footage, we’re supplying feeds of our games,“ he said.

Niall Connell, general manager and senior vice president at FanDuel, said: “As we continue to innovate and expand nationwide, the ability to further enhance the live game and live betting experience is increasingly important to our customers.“

“Our goal is to become a one-stop-shop for all sports and betting content, and live-streaming professional sports like hockey is one of the many ways we are reaching that goal,” he added.

Crossover customers fuelling growth

Following this week’s announcement, shares in Flutter Entertainment, FanDuel’s parent company, were trading upwards on the London Stock Exchange.

In the U.S., FanDuel finished 2019 as the largest online sportsbook and casino, less than 18 months after the launch of its sports betting operations in New Jersey in the fall of 2018.

According to its recently announced preliminary results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2019, its online market share in the four states where it is live reached 44%.

While it claims to be in “the leading position” in each of those states, its currently playing second fiddle to arch-rival DraftKings in both Pennsylvania, according to the latest official figures, and Indiana. That said, it’s making up ground fast in the Hoosier State after conceding a head start.

FanDuel also reported that of its 350,000 sports betting customers, 42% have migrated from its daily fantasy sports database, while it’s also benefiting from sports betting cross-sell to its online casino, which saw revenue triple in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Reasons to bet hockey with FanDuel

If you’re new to FanDuel and are located in any of the four states where it is live, there is every incentive to download the app.

Once you’re signed up, your first wager – must be within seven days of creating your account – will be risk-free up to $500.

Simply make your first bet and, if it loses, they’ll give you a refund of up to $500 in site credit within 72 hours. Further terms apply.

There’s more to like as FanDuel’s Multi-Sport Parlay Insurance allows you to place a parlay of 5+ legs on any sport in any market, safe in the knowledge that you’ll get your money back if all your legs hit except one.

Here’s how that works:

• Place a parlay of 5+ legs in any sport and any market
• $25 max refund per eligible wager
• If all of the legs hit except for 1, you get your money back
• 4 eligible wagers per Sportsbook account holder per day
• Round robins and teasers are not eligible
• Each individual leg of the parlay must have odds greater than or equal to -200 (e.g. -175, -110, +140 would qualify)

Come and follow us over on Twitter @Gamble_usa for more legal sports betting news across the US.

Relevant news