With Major League Sports Set to Return, FanDuel Announces Specials to Lure Bettors Back

Posted on: July 22, 2020, 11:58h. 

Last updated on: July 23, 2020, 10:20h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

With the return of major league sports in the United States, FanDuel is hoping a couple of promotions will help lure bettors back to their app when play resumes.

FanDuel sports betting
The FanDuel Sportsbook at Belterra Casino Resort in Indiana before its grand opening in September. (Image: FanDuel/PRNewswire)

On Tuesday, the sports tech company announced it was giving all of its customers a $10 credit, good to use either in the FanDuel mobile betting app or its daily fantasy sports contest. The company claims that it has 8.5 million customers located in 45 states.

In a statement, FanDuel Group Chief Marketing Officer Mike Raffensperger said company officials were excited that some of its top betting markets were getting ready to resume play.

Putting more than $80 million in site credits into our customers’ accounts to enter DFS contests or to make legal sports bets is a thank-you to our customers for their loyalty during this long stretch without the NBA, NHL and MLB,” Raffensperger said.

MLB action starts on Thursday, while the NBA and NHL resume play next week. The $10 credit is available through Aug. 2.

Second Promo Announced

The $10 credit isn’t the only way FanDuel’s trying to get bettors back. In the same release, FanDuel announced that it would credit bettors up to $100 in total losses on their first day back on the site through Aug. 2.

Basketball starts on July 30, offering up to six games a day, and hockey, which resumes on Aug. 1, offers five a day. With baseball offering up to 15 games a day, FanDuel bettors will have plenty of games from which to select.

Promotions like these aren’t unusual for FanDuel, which finds itself competing against DraftKings to be the top sportsbook in several sports betting states.

After launching last fall in Indiana a month after DraftKings, FanDuel offered a “spread the love” special bet on the Indianapolis Colts. For every 250 bettors, the Colts spread against the New Orleans Saints grew by a point. By the time the Monday night game kicked off, Colts bettors were getting 51 points. That’s an unprecedented line for an NFL game, and customers who put up $50 ended up netting $45.45.

DraftKings, which started in Pennsylvania after FanDuel, wound up offering a similar promotion for a Philadelphia 76ers game in its efforts to catch up to its rival in the Keystone State.

More Promos Likely to Come

The lack of baseball and playoff basketball and hockey over the spring certainly had an effect on the sportsbooks. In Pennsylvania, FanDuel still ranked as the state’s top sportsbook in April, May, and June. But its average handle for those months was.$27.2 million. DraftKings’ average monthly handle was $19.8 million.

In Indiana, where FanDuel ranks second to DraftKings, its average handle for the three months was slightly less than $10 million. DraftKings average in the Hoosier state was $17.3 million over the same span.

Expect more promos like this from FanDuel and DraftKings as the NBA and NHL playoffs progress and the MLB season moves along. This should be especially true in the newest states to offer online sports betting. Both have launched in Colorado, and both are awaiting final approvals from the Illinois Gaming Board for their casino or racing partners.