The National Football League (NFL) team, Carolina Panthers have inked a partnership with the sports-tech firm, FanDuel.
Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, FanDuel has become the Panthers’ official sports betting partner. The two companies will work together on marketing and content creation for each other’s digital and social media platforms.
The Panthers’ home stadium, Bank of America Stadium, will also have digital FanDuel branding installed, and the betting company will activate during events held there.
Mike Raffensperger, FanDuel’s Chief Commercial Officer, said, “Bringing FanDuel to sports fans across North Carolina is an important moment for our business, and we are thrilled to be able to work with the Carolina Panthers to introduce their fanbase to America’s #1 sportsbook.”
The agreement between FanDuel and the team will go into effect on March 11, the day that mobile sports betting becomes legal in the state. FanDuel will be able to take pre-registrations from prospective consumers before then.
FanDuel was previously permitted to operate in the state owing to its affiliation with the PGA Tour, but this new deal with the Panthers will keep rival companies from partnering with the most well-known sports team in the state.
With the launch of mobile betting, North Carolina will become the 20th US state where FanDuel operates an online sportsbook.
This excludes the US capital of Washington, D.C., where the sportsbook is also operational, with FanDuel also accessible in North America in Ontario, Canada.
FanDuel is a sportsbook operator in the following states: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.
FanDuel operates a fantasy sports service in 44 of the 50 US states in addition to its non-sportsbook operations.
Prominent sports alliances have been a major driving force behind FanDuel’s US expansion. August saw the betting firm sign a multi-year deal with Nascar, the stock car racing organisation, to become an official gambling operator for the racing series.