Resorts Casino plans to test the legality of daily fantasy sports in New Jersey. Resorts Casino signed a deal with Sports AD, a business-to-business (B2B) daily fantasy sports supplier.
The Atlantic City casino will partner with the DFS supplier to launch FastPick, a daily fantasy sports product that will be available to New Jersey residents only. FastPick is expected to launch in June 2017.
Daily Fantasy Sports with a Twist
Daily fantasy sports is not legal at the moment in New Jersey, though the Division of Gaming Enforcement has a temporary policy in place to regulate games of skill like DFS.
That temporary policy might allow for Resorts Casino and Sports AD to test their product, though any such test-run is still weeks in the future, because of other considerations.
US Supreme Court Weights Sports Betting Laws
The New Jersey State Legislature is debating a full daily fantasy sports bill at present. Though the proposed law is expected to be passed eventually, those with inside knowledge believe the DFS bill will not be ready before New Jersey learns the fate of its sports betting appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Division of Gaming Enforcement does not want to offer any form of sports-related gaming that might derail its appeal before the Supreme Court. Legalized sports betting would be a boon for Atlantic City casinos and Monmouth Park, so New Jersey will not turn to alternatives before they get a definitive answer from the nation's highest court.
What Is FastPick Daily Fantasy Sports?
In the meantime, FastPick plans a much different version of daily fantasy sports than what players will find at DraftKings or FanDuel. In fact, FastPick uses a parlay-style form of gaming that is much closer to certain types of traditional sports betting than the normal DFS fare.
In these contests, a player decides whether one of two players will do better in a game. The example given is a contest between Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. In all, FastPick involves contests with 3 to 10 of these decisions. In order to win, the player has to pick all three contests correctly. For higher payouts, the number of required wins increases.
John Brennan on FastPick's Game Design Work
John Brennan, CEO of Sports AD, said in an interview with ESPN that his company offers altneratives to sites in the daily fantasy sports business.
Brennan said, "We wanted to get something as close to a traditional single-game play as we [could], but still have it be compliant with fantasy rules." "I think this is as close as you can get right now. Licensed gaming operators want to offer daily fantasy sports and they want to do it differently to FanDuel and DraftKings."
It is a clever way to approach daily fantasy sports. If Resorts Casino's FastPick site offered contests which were quite similar to the DraftKings or FanDuel contests, New Jersey players who wanted to play them probably would be members of one of those two DFS sites. By offering a different DFS gaming experience, FastPick has a chance to build its own customer base.
Inclusion of DraftKings and FanDuel
DFS players can play traditional one-day fantasy football on DraftKings or FanDuel (or their merged product eventually), but if they want a different challenge, they can try Resorts Casino's FastPick. The important thing about online casino and poker site operators is they want games that gamblers will play while waiting for the next hand of poker or blackjack. FastPick would become one of those options, along with slots, online scratchcards, and other mini-games.
Eventually, daily fantasy sports will be legalized in New Jersey. When it does, Atlantic City casinos might partner with the FanDuel/DraftKings brand. One might choose StarsDraft as a partner, but FastPick gives an entirely new option. The success of the SugarHouse Casino has shown that online gaming sites which mix things up have a chance for big success.
