DraftKings and Sports & Social Partner for New Nashville, Detroit Locations

Posted on: July 30, 2021, 10:51h. 

Last updated on: July 30, 2021, 03:07h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

DraftKings and the sports bar and gaming concept — Sports & Social — are partnering to build new locations in Nashville and Detroit.

The sports betting company and Sports & Social restaurant venue say the agreement will result in unique, in-person entertainment experiences that come with premium food and beverage, sports betting, and social entertainment. 

Sports & Social, developed by The Cordish Companies, which owns and operates Live!-branded casinos in Maryland and Pennsylvania, bills itself as an upscale gaming parlor and social lounge.

Mobile sports betting went live in Tennessee last November. Land-based and online sportsbooks have been operating in Michigan, including at the three commercial downtown Detroit casinos, since March of 2020.

Retail Sports Bet

Tennessee’s sports betting law is unlike most other states that have voted to authorize and regulate gambling activity. In the Volunteer State, sportsbooks do not need to be tethered to brick-and-mortar casinos, a must considering Tennessee doesn’t have any commercial or tribal casinos.

Instead, Tennessee sports betting is exclusively conducted online, and governed by the Tennessee Lottery. DraftKings was approved to conduct online sportsbooks in the state last September. In Michigan, DraftKings is licensed by way of the Bay Mills Resort & Casinos. The interactive gaming provider operates a land-based sportsbook at the tribal casino in Brimley, Mi., and also facilitates wagers online.

Pending regulatory approvals, DraftKings and Sports & Social say they’ll embark on building out new sports bars and lounges in the Nashville and Detroit markets.

Today, so much of sports betting is focused on the mobile-technology aspect. However, the in-person experience is an integral layer that we look forward to advancing alongside Sports & Social,” said Ezra Kucharz, chief business officer at DraftKings.

Sports & Social presently has sports betting locations at Cordish’s Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, Live! Casino Pittsburgh, and Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in the Baltimore/Washington corridor. The restaurant additionally has venues in Atlanta, St. Louis, and Arlington, Va. 

Mobile Dominance

In states where mobile sports betting is legal, sportsbooks take the overwhelming majority of their wagers remotely. As an example, in New Jersey, $5.5 billion of the $6 billion in bets wagered last year were completed online. 

DraftKings and Sports & Social’s brick-and-mortar developments are a big bet on Americans wanting to get out and about post-pandemic. That notion certainly seems to be a trend so far in 2021. 

The gaming industries in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Massachusetts have all reported single monthly gross casino revenue records this year. Tourism experts believe pent-up demand will continue to support tourism’s recovery, as well as local hospitality spending.

“We expect several years of unprecedented growth, sparked not only by recovery from the worst year the industry has ever seen, but also by unprecedented levels of fiscal stimulus, savings rates, and pent-up demand for experiences people missed over the past year,” a recent note from Lodging Analytics Research and Consulting projected.