Nearly three years removed from a disastrous attempt to bring sports betting to California, the heads of FanDuel and DraftKings made a rare public appearance on Monday (31 March) in efforts to curry favour with tribal gaming stakeholders.
FanDuel president Christian Genetski joined DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins to discuss their companies’ tribal gaming strategies with Victor Rocha, conference chair of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA). The trio headlined the first day of the Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention in San Diego.
On paper, the conversation was about tribes and operators “structuring successful partnerships” to ensure “long-term sustainability”. But the packed crowd of industry representatives knew that the backdrop of the conversation was much more controversial.
A coalition of commercial bookmakers led by FanDuel and DraftKings in 2022 spent hundreds of millions on Prop 27, which would have legalised mobile sports betting in California. Tribes also put..