Paddy Power Betfair to adopt FanDuel as main US betting brand
Recenlty-acquired DFS brand enjoys widespread name recognition in the US, being active in 40 states
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) is planning to use its recently-acquired DFS brand FanDuel as its main sports betting brand across the US.
PPB said the decision had been made because of the name recognition of the FanDuel brand, which has real-money customers in 40 states across the US.
A recent survey of 250 American consumers also found none of them could name Paddy Power or Betfair unprompted as a gambling brand.
PPB said no firm decision has been made about an online casino brand in the rest of the US, although EGR understands it is likely that FanDuel will be used, despite the traction gained by the Betfair Casino in New Jersey.
Online horseracing betting will continue to be covered by the TVG brand.
Davy analyst David Jennings told EGR: “I think the working assumption is that FanDuel will be the brand of choice for Paddy Power Betfair in the US, be it for sports betting or casino.
“TVG will remain synonymous with horse racing and we don’t see that changing but for everything else, we think it will be FanDuel.”
Betfair US CEO, Kip Levin, recently told Legal Sports Report it was “very likely” that FanDuel will be deployed as Betfair’s primary brand across the US.
Jennings speculated the Betfair brand could also be retained for the expansion of the Exchange in the US, where it is currently live for horseracing-only in New Jersey.
“I think Exchange will always be the Betfair brand, but their key focus will be sportsbook, not exchange.
“The latter really only thrives once the market becomes more sophisticated, and I think the scale of the sportsbook book opportunity greatly exceeds Exchange in the near-term.”