DraftKings Sportsbook to enter sports betting market in Puerto Rico

April 5, 2022

American sports betting company DraftKings will bring its sportsbook, and other sports betting attractions to the island of Puerto Rico. The move itself will be the form of further expansion of the partnership established between DraftKings, Foxwood, and Mashantucket Tribal Nation.

The plan would be to immerse Draftkings sportsbook brand inside the ‘Foxwood El San Juan Casino’, a newly-redeveloped casino located in the capital city of Puerto Rico.

The DraftKings sportsbook is planned to be coming to the casino in the next few weeks, as the establishment expects to open on a designated date. As for now, DraftKings would still deal with a series of licensing and legal approvals before it can officially run the business in Puerto Rico.

Once all of the regulatory requirements have been passed, then DraftKings would be able to provide its renowned online sportsbook and daily fantasy sports (DFS) platform, which are accessible in 44 US states and other 6 countries, to the residents of Puerto Rico.

“Puerto Rico is known for its rich and vibrant sports culture, and we look forward to being able to provide fans with a safe and legal form of sports betting through our retail and online sportsbooks,” said DraftKings president and co-founder, Matt Kalish.

Sports betting in Puerto Rico

Sports betting is rather new in Puerto Rico. It dates back to July 2019 when governor Ricardo Rosselló signed the Betting Committee Act into law, making sports betting legal on the Caribbean island.

In addition, the signing of the Legislative Assembly’s sports betting bill by former governor Wanda Vázquez Garced in December 2020 has also done a great deed for the flourishing sports betting in Puerto Rico.

Moreover, Senate Bill 1534, which reportedly amended the island’s Gambling Law to incorporate expanded gaming, has added up to the development by authorizing mobile sports betting and DFS operating in the region.

The effect of the legislation got delayed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with the first legal bets just coming in February 2022, and BetMGM is the first to show up in the market by partnering with the Casino del Mar at La Concha Resort.

The island of Puerto Rico, which is an unincorporated U.S. territory, is currently expecting a high surge of visitors after seeing a decline in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021, many of the returning visitors were reported to relish new attractions by visiting casinos and doing sports betting.

DraftKings, Foxwood, and Mashantucket Tribal Nation's partnership

DraftKings, Foxwood, and Mashantucket Tribal Nation have marked the new milestone of their collaboration by bringing sportsbook and its other betting products to ‘Foxwood El San Juan Casino’.

The three parties have been in a deal of partnership since 2021, and since launched the iGaming and sports betting in Connecticut last October through their partnership.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which is the Indian tribe having the US government’s permit to operate online gaming and sportsbooks in Connecticut, is also owning the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, aside from the Foxwood's casino in San Juan.

About the expansion to Puerto Rico alongside DraftKings, the chairman of The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Rodney Butler, considered the move to be carrying the mission to give ‘unforgettable memories’ to customers and sports fans out there.

“As we expand our partnership with DraftKings to the beautiful island of Puerto Rico at the Foxwoods El San Juan Casino, we are confident that we will continue to create unforgettable memories for customers and sports fans alike,” Butler said.

Jake
Jake Williams
Jake Williams is a sports gambling expert. He's been writing in the sports betting and DFS industry for over a decade. He specializes in MLB and NBA, along with College Basketball and College Football.