The recently opened Cumberland Run race track in Corbin has partnered with one of the largest sportsbooks in the country.
According to a document obtained by Gaming Today, Cumberland Run agreed to a Kentucky sports betting partnership with DraftKings. Additionally, the document showed Cumberland Run partnered with Circa Online Sportsbook.
The deal will give Kentucky bettors access to DraftKings and Circa Sportsbook. Aside from access, details surrounding the partnership are still unknown.
The two online sportsbooks are on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of U.S. availability. DraftKings is available in 20 states already. Kentucky will be its 21st market.
On the other hand, Circa Sportsbook is only live in Nevada, Iowa, and Colorado. Kentucky will be its fourth launch.
Current Kentucky Sports Betting Partnerships
On Thursday afternoon, Gov. Andy Beshear released the applicants for both online and retail sports betting licenses. It shed a ton of light on the landscape of the market. However, most of the partnerships were still under wraps.
Caesars Entertainment announced a partnership with the Keeneland-owned Red Mile in May. Then, FanDuel confirmed a deal with Churchill Downs Inc. Lastly, BetMGM inked a partnership with Sandy’s Racing & Gaming.
Despite announcing their intention to enter the Kentucky sports betting market, DraftKings never made a formal announcement about who its sports betting partner would be. Circa never made a public statement regarding a Kentucky launch at all.
A partnership with Churchill Downs made sense since the Boston-based online sportsbook is a top-two sportsbook in the country. And Churchill Downs is the largest gambling operator in the Bluegrass State.
Furthermore, the two already had an existing partnership for the DraftKings horse racing platform, DK Horse.
Churchill Downs Inc. owns Churchill Downs, Ellis Park, Oak Grove Racing & Gaming, and Turfway Park.
The company said it will have multiple online sports betting partners and its brick-and-mortar sportsbooks won’t have its partners’ branding. Thus, it’s possible that there isn’t a specific partner for every CDI-owned venue.
Will DraftKings End up With a Retail-Branded Sportsbook?
Aside from the Churchill Downs partnerships, the other brick-and-mortar sportsbooks will sport the brands of their online partners.
Red Mile will have a Caesars-branded sportsbook called “The Red Room,” while Sandy’s sportsbook will don the BetMGM logo.
This key difference between Churchill Downs and other operators could be the reason why DraftKings made a deal elsewhere. DraftKings has a retail sportsbook in 11 other states. In New Hampshire, where it’s the only operator, the company has two retail locations.
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