FanDuel and Bally’s Casino have made true their pledge to work together to uplift the statue of the land-based casino establishment in Atlantic City. After close to a full year of diminished business performance occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, Bally’s is open again. This time around though, the casino has an interior feel that is classy and posh.
While everybody agrees that online and mobile betting options are easy and convenient, it is also true that the modern brick-and-mortar casino establishments are to die for. Bally’s Casino is one of the most outstanding physical gambling locations in New Jersey. The premises are not only inviting but the comfort begs guests to stay longer.
In line with the social distancing protocols, the casino has turned a considerable portion of the gaming floor into a lounge. The most spectacular feature of this casino in its current form is the FanDuel Sportsbook. If by accident or intentionally, this grand opening coincides with the upcoming season of college basketball.
The state legislature in New Jersey were a while ago captioned in the news as having passed into law a bill that allows betting between college sports held inside and outside the state. This means that bettors can now cheer their favorite teams by betting on them-this will be allowed for 2021 sports events.
What we cover
How does the casino look like now?
Bally’s Casino has dedicated the space beside the northern boardwalk in the casino to FanDuel Sportsbook. It is a space that customers can easily spot owing to the fact that it is close to the entrance which customers use to access the casino. Even for new visitors to the casino, the straightforward glare of the sportsbook lighting fixtures will be enough to cause a detour.
Once they take a turn to enter this dedicated space, customers come face to face with a pair of video display walls. These are served by multiple betting terminals from where customers can make their bets. Walking further beyond this point is a central video display – a state-of-the-art wall made of LED display that measures 25m feet wide. This is supported by a set of 10 video outlets to keep fans updated no matter their location on the betting floor.
To make their bets, fans have 5 retail shops where they can pay for betting slips. The Sportsbook also allows for self-facilitation of bets through 20 self-service kiosks. These kiosks are powered by technology from FanDuel on a platform that has been provided by IGT. Sports betting fans can have a field day here as the platform hosts games from the major US sporting leagues – the most popular include basketball, MMA, Golf, Soccer, baseball, professional football and motorsports.
The Senior Director of Operations at FanDuel, Andrew Kleiman recently spoke about the fact that Bally’s was hosting FanDuel in Atlantic City. The FanDuel boss was honored to be a part of Ball’s operations at a time when the entire country is on a mad rush to reap the benefits of sports betting. He termed the partnership as quite exciting and instrumental in safeguarding the future of gambling.
Kleiman expressed confidence that Bally’s positioning in Atlantic City is going to help in growing the FanDuel business. Being a few meters from the broadwalk is quite strategic and has never been seen before. The customer is bound to get excited at this atmosphere that is a unique occurrence in the industry.
Along with the sportsbook, FanDuel will be offering its customers a menu of curated foods and beverages. Players who frequent pubs will find the modern fare range to be quite familiar because they will be able to grab smash burgers and truffles tots. Other foods that the sportsbooks have organized for its players at a fee are spicy edamame and sandwich (not just any other but this one has basil aioli smothered on it.
In the beverage section, the guests of the FanDuel sportsbook can indulge in a variety of local and specially crafted beers from the self-pour station, iPourit. Cocktail lovers too have not been left out because the bar section offers all manner of combinations to suit customer preference.
The expansion of FanDuel
Over the last few years, FanDuel has been actively seeking new spaces to operate in and the traditional casino setup in Bally’s fits the bill for an untapped but hungry market. George Papanier who is the CEO of Bally’s reveals that the Bally’s stationed FanDuel sportsbook is the 5th the company has opened. The company has other sportsbooks running in Delaware, Mississippi, Colorado, Rhode Island and New Jersey.
Being in AC is a huge achievement according to Papanier who considers it a convenience for their customers to enjoy sportsbooks without leaving their gaming floor. This latest partnership that FanDuel has gotten into with Bally’s was first discussed in May 2020.
One of the early markets for FanDuel to settle on was Colorado where the casino offered a mobile and online based sports betting experience. The partnership for both parties is quite strategic because Bally’s on one hand has statewide experience while FanDuel on the other hand has tech experience.
FanDuel has demonstrated its ability to command respect in a physical setup by introducing models that the customer can feel and touch as they play. Bally’s is all too eager to explore other revenue streams now that social distancing has paralyzed part of the entertainment industry.
Conclusion
The brick and mortar casinos as we know them are gradually going out of business because the internet is making betting a lot more convenient when done from home. Partnering a land based casino with a casino developer targets customers whose sole purpose for visiting a gambling establishment is to socialize. The casino of the future is likely to have the customer on self-serve and offer other services such as accommodation. While a sportsbook is ideally online based, this new model that FanDuel and Bally’s Casino are promoting is going to appeal to a new crop of gamblers.
