Resorts Casino In New Jersey Takes A Gamble On New Parlay-Style DFS Game
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Sport Analytics & Data’s FastPick game is about as close to traditional sports betting as one can legally get without falling outside of the parameters of “fantasy sports.”
FastPick made its online debut at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City last week. According to the Associated Press, Resorts plans on adding betting kiosks throughout its NJ casino in time for football season.
The launch of FastPick has been in the works for several months. As Dustin Gouker of Legal Sports Report noted, by launching before New Jersey passes a fantasy sports bill, FastPick will be able to operate uninterrupted during the licensing process.
“Had the platform not launched before [Gov. Chris Christie] signed [the bill] … it would have delayed the launch until after Resorts procured a fantasy sports license,” Gouker wrote. “The launch allows FastPick/Resorts to operate without interruption… [and] take action on the upcoming NFL season.”
What is FastPick?
FastPick is a parlay-style DFS game that diverges from traditional daily fantasy sports contests in two key ways:
- Users do not assemble a team of players but rather choose players in a slate of head-to-head matchups.
- FastPick is played against the house, not against other DFS players.
Here’s how it works.
FastPick players choose anywhere from three to 10 head-to-head matchups. Like parlay betting in traditional sports books, the more matchups a player selects, the higher the payout for a winning ticket.
Once the parameters of the wager are made, the next step is to choose one of two pre-selected players from each matchup. The player not chosen by the customer is assigned to the casino. If a customer’s player earns more points than the casino’s player, the customer wins that matchup. If a customer beats the casino in all of their selected matchups, they will win money.
The maximum payout is $100,000, which can be won on a $200 bet with a 10-player parlay.
[i15-table tableid=4289]A precursor to legal sports betting?
With sports betting limited to Nevada, and multiple states challenging the federal prohibition, products like FastPick are inevitable.
Daily fantasy sports first sprang into being to take advantage of a fantasy sports carveout in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. Now that states are legalizing daily fantasy sports, DFS companies are growing more emboldened. And now land-based casinos are looking to explore opportunities in the space.
New DFS products are further pushing the envelope and trying to blur the line between DFS and sports betting.
It’s unclear how players will receive games like FastPick. But the bigger question is whether these products can thrive in a casino environment if sports betting is legalized, which is looking more and more possible by the day.