- DraftKings Casino currently operates in only two states, while competitors have expanded to more than half the country.
- The online casino could expand its reach by partnering with more land-based casinos in various markets.
- Adding live dealer games would make DraftKings Casino more competitive against other leading gambling sites.
DraftKings is one of the biggest names in US gambling. Its well-known sportsbook apps are available in more than a dozen states, and the DraftKings Daily Fantasy app is even more ubiquitous (available in all but a few states).
are there casinos in every stateHowever, the company’s eponymous casino app is available in just two states. That limits its player pool significantly. Here, I’ll explain why that is and offer some suggestions as to how the DraftKings Casino app can become more widely available.
Fewer States Than Slots Apps
The online casino offers dozens of popular slot machines from leading developers like IGT and SG Digital. There are also numerous digital roulette, blackjack and poker tables. However, it is available in only two states: Pennsylvania and Michigan.
In comparison, the company’s slots-only app – known simply as the “DraftKings” app in states where it is offered – is available in 11 states. It features hundreds of slots from providers like NetEnt and Scientific Games.
Even the DraftKings Global Poker app, which uses an alternative legal interpretation to constitute a game of skill rather than chance, is available in 49 states (it excludes Washington).
Clearly, something is holding back the progress of the regular DraftKings Casino app. Investigation reveals that obtaining a license to operate in the United States is a complex process.
Roulette Tips that will Help you Win Real Money at a CasinoDraftKings Casino currently has four licenses. Two were obtained when it launched in Pennsylvania and Michigan. The other two are part of larger deals with the FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports app and the Fox Bet sportsbook.
In acquiring those licenses second-hand, DraftKings inherited operating agreements with the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada. In order to operate in the US, online casinos do not need a local license, but they do need a server located within the state.
That’s why all US-facing online casinos partner with existing land-based casinos. Those servers can be housed in the brick-and-mortar partner’s data center or a similar arrangement can be made.
Because DraftKings did not already have relationships with land-based casinos in other states, it was unable to leverage its existing licenses. Instead, it would have to secure a local license or strike new partnerships in each state it wants to enter.
Must-Know Roulette Tips for Playing in a CasinoCan DraftKings Casino operate without a local license in each state? Yes. But it would have to find a Native American tribe willing to take on a major project with no guarantee of success, and with significant financial risk shouldered by the casino side of their enterprise.
The alternatives are clear: Partnerships must be formed with exiting operators in each state, or licenses must be obtained in each state. Unfortunately, the former option seems unlikely, since most of those slots are already available on the standalone DraftKings app.
The latter option if off the table as well, as DraftKings has already said it has no immediate plans to launch in additional states.
All of this means that the DraftKings Casino app will remain a regional offering for the foreseeable future.
It is unfortunate for players in states without access to the site, but it may also present an opportunity. If you’re able to visit Michigan or Pennsylvania, you can read more about the site below—and then take the site for a test drive.
## What States Will DraftKings Casino Launch In Next?
It appears that DraftKings won’t be expanding into any new states in the near future. Of course, things can change quickly in the gambling industry.
It would be wise for DraftKings to try to expand to more states, though. If they don’t act quickly, their competition will leave them in the dust.
BetMGM Casino currently offers their services in nine states and the trend is pointing towards even more expansions in the future. CEO Adam Greenblatt even mentioned international expansion as a possibility in a recent interview.
Golden Nugget Casino is available in six states, while Ceasars Casino & Sport is in four states.
Even lesser-known gambling sites like Borgata Casino and TwinSpires Casino are in multiple states. At the very least, DraftKings should aim to be in as many states as its competitors.
With that being said, reaching more than half the country wouldn’t be too far fetched either. Here are the states that would make the most sense for DraftKings Casino to expand to first.
* New Jersey
* Ohio
* Virginia
* Indiana
* West Virginia
* Maryland
* Texas
* Florida
* Arizona
* New York
* California
As you can see, many of these states have a nearby state where DraftKings Casino is already available. It likely wouldn’t be too difficult to get everything set up so that customers in those states can play as well.
Here’s why each state makes sense for DraftKings to expand to next.
### New Jersey
It may be surprising to some that DraftKings doesn’t operate an online casino in its home state of New Jersey. It certainly was surprising to me at least.
Here’s the deal, however; DraftKings partnered up with Hollywood Casino when it launched its casino in Pennsylvania. Holywood Casino is owned by Penn National, and they already have an online casino and sportsbook in New Jersey.
They likely didn’t want to over saturate the market in New Jersey, which would be a reasonable decision considering how competitive the gambling landscape is there.
It’s also possible that they are waiting for their partnership with Caesars to come to an end. They struck a deal to use the Caesars casino games, which might make it difficult to offer their own casino in NJ.
Either way, look for DraftKings to be in New Jersey sooner rather than later.
### Ohio & Virginia
Why not offer your services in states that border two states where your casino is available?
Ohio and Virginia share borders with Michigan and Pennsylvania, both of which have a DraftKings Casino. It wouldn’t be too shocking to see them break into these states.
Ohio looks like it could be a particularly hot market right now. Multiple casino brands have been running TV ads nonstop lately, trying to capture as much of the market as they can.
It would also be interesting because residents in these states are probably already aware of DraftKings thanks to their fantasy sports and sports betting apps. The brand awareness would save them a lot of time and money when compared to breaking into a completely new market.
### Indiana, West Virginia, & Maryland
Indiana is yet another state that shares a boarder with Michigan. As for West Virginia and Maryland, they both neighbor both Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
I’d say the likelihood of DraftKings entering all three states is highest for Maryland. Their current MD exemption is quite surprising, especially considering how popular sports betting has become here.
Combining sportsbetting and online casino gaming into one app would be a smart move for DraftKings. I would expect they would see an instant boost in revenue if they entered the Free State.
### Texas, Florida, Arizona, & New York
Online casinos are currently not legal in Texas, Florida, Wyoming, and Nevada. The final three do offer land-based casinos, but the first three do not.
Texas and Florida, in particular, have enormous population sizes. They would instantly make DraftKings one of the largest online casinos in the country, regardless of market share.
Arizona is an interesting case because it recently legalized both sports betting and online casino gaming. It won’t be long before the first operators receive their licenses, and DraftKings would be foolish not to apply.
As for New York, there’s a strong chance mobile casino gaming will be legal soon. Four upstate casinos have filed a petition to get the process started, which would require the state’s governor to issue an RFP (request for proposal.)
If that happens, casinos will be able to apply for licenses. Considering how big the NY market is for their DFS and sportsbooks, it would be crazy for DraftKings not to offer their casino there.
### California
California is in a weird spot when it comes to gambling. There are dozens of Indian Casinos throughout the state, but they have been hesitant to agree on online gambling.
It’s almost guaranteed that online gambling will eventually become legal in CA. The question is what form it will take.
All of the tribal casinos would likely offer their own online casinos, but they have had disputes about things such as mobile sports betting. It’s hard to know exactly when online casinos will arrive, let alone who will be able to operate one.
Still, DraftKings should definitely try to get a license if given the opportunity. California’s population is massive, and their economy is huge.
## Why Is DraftKings Not in More States?
There’s no official reason we know of as to why it isn’t available elsewhere. When the company announced its entry into PA in 2019, an executive did say that more states were “imminent.”
However, that turned out not to be the case. Since then, DraftKings has focused its efforts on other forms of gambling.
In 2020, the company went public through a SPAC merger. Early this year, it completed its acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming. Both of those processes no doubt required all of its focus.
Despite its limited availability, DraftKings Casino is making progress. In January 2022, the app added support for deposits and withdrawals via PayPal—a popular payment method that many gamblers prefer.
Another recent improvement is the addition of more digital roulette tables. In the past, DraftKings offered only one variant of roulette. Now players have a choice between American Roulette, Secrets of the Amazon – Roulette, and Live Rouette.
Live roulette is an entirely different animal, of course. Many more DraftKings markets may depend on the addition of live dealer games.
Competitors like BetMGM and Borgata have seen explosive growth in the last couple of years as they have expanded into more markets and added more live dealer titles to their platforms.
## How DraftKings Casino Can Compete Better
1 . **Expand to More States**: The easiest way for DraftKings Casino to compete better is to become available in more states. More states would lead to a bigger player base, which would entice more game developers to add their titles to the casino.
2. **Add More Slots**: This would encourage more players to stick around until DraftKings becomes available in their state. Even if you live in PA or MI, you may live close enough to one of those states that you’d rather play from home.
3. **More Live Dealer Games**: DraftKongs needs to add more live dealer games to keep up with the competition. It recently added some digital roulette games, which is good, but those tend to have lower win rates than live dealer roulette.
4. **Exclusive Slots & Table Games**: This would give players another incentive to choose DraftKings over its rivals. It takes time and resources for third-party developers to integrate their games with a new platform. By offering exclusives, DraftKings can provide content that you cannot get anywhere else.
5. **Welcome Bonus**: Offer a welcome bonus for new players. All of its rivals offer a deposit match to new customers, and DraftKings is currently the only one that is missing one.
6. **No Deposit Bonus**: A popular technique used by other casinos is offering a no deposit bonus. This encourages new users to sign up for your site and give it a try, regardless of whether or not they were planning on gambling today/this week.
7. **VIP Program**: Implementing a VIP program would make the most loyal customers feel appreciated. Some other sites already have a tiered system, where the higher tiers you reach, the more perks you unlock.
8. **Mobile App**: A mobile app would increase accessibility tremendously. While playing on the browser works fine, sometimes mobile apps have exclusive bonuses and promotions, as well as a cleaner user interface.
The problem, of course, is cost. Bonuses cost money, and exclusives will require substantial development costs or considerable license fees.
A mobile app would require the services of expensive software engineers and designers. Still, the DraftKings brand is strong enough that investors would likely be interested in helping fund such initiatives.
## Overcoming Barriers to Expansion
Before it can address these issues, DraftKings must overcome the obstacles preventing it from offering its casino in more states.
To obtain a license in a new state, DraftKings would either have to form a partnership with an existing online casino or seek approval to offer its casino in its own name.
The first option seems less likely, simply because its slots are already available to Pennsylvania and Michigan players through the standalone DraftKings app. It would be odd for the company to partner with another operator to offer the same games.
That brings us back to option two: Seeking approval to go it alone. DraftKings would have to apply for a casino license in the state(s) it wants to enter. That is an expensive and time-consuming process with no guarantees of success.
Every state sets its own policies for issuing gambling licenses. Generally speaking, a certain number of licenses are made available whenever a state decides to legalize some form of gambling. Existing casinos, racetracks, and other qualified organizations can then apply for those licenses.
When the supply of licenses is insufficient to meet demand, those precious few spots become exceptionally valuable. License holders can sell their licenses to others for vast sums of money – sometimes for tens of millions of dollars.
Naturally, those license holders will be reluctant to give up their monopoly position. They will oppose any attempts to issue new licenses – especially to an established outsider like DraftKings.
It’s worth noting that DraftKings does already have a casino license in one state (Pennsylvania), so it is not a complete ne’er-do-well. Still, it will have to make a compelling argument to convince licensing authorities in other states that it deserves to be granted a similarly broad license.
CEO Jason Robins and the rest of the DraftKings brass would do well to hire some lobbyists and start making campaign contributions to influential politicians in the states they hope to enter.
Some states are more favorable than others when it comes to issuing new casino licenses. For example, new online casinos currently in the pipeline in Illinois and Ohio.
Those licensing processes are still underway, so there’s no guarantee they will succeed. Still, DraftKings would do well to monitor those applications and maybe even lend a hand. Helping a potential competitor further your own goals may not seem chivalrous, but the old adage “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” applies here.
Image credit : Daniel Sonego / Shutterstock.com
