Hoosiers can now stream live NHL games courtesy of FanDuel. The sportsbook will be livestreaming up to two games each day throughout the NHL regular season.
Anyone that has a funded sportsbook account, or has placed a wager on the selected games for that day will be able to watch them directly within the FanDuel Sportsbook app.
The service is part of a new partnership between FanDuel and IMG Arena.
IMG Arena recently acquired the rights to provide sportsbooks with the live streams to select NHL games.
This partnership is IMG putting those rights to work.
FanDuel making a push for NHL betting
Streaming live games is only one part of the package here for FanDuel. In general, the sportsbook is trying to rack up more hockey bets.
In addition to being able to stream live games, FanDuel has also introduced a huge new section of prop bets. Those props are player-based, but cover all sorts of possible in-game outcomes.
FanDuel users can now bet on a particular player’s goals scored, assists, shots, shutouts, and other stats.
Since football season is over, basketball is now the most popular sport to bet on throughout the country.
However, basketball betting hasn’t quite been able to put up the same numbers as football in terms of handle. When football season ends, the number of bets coming in for sportsbooks like FanDuel can drop along with it.
But if FanDuel is able to get more hockey fans engaged in betting, that combined with basketball could help fill the pigskin-sized hole in profits.
According to GM and SVP of FanDuel Group Niall Connell, being able to stream live NHL games was a result of wanting to enhance the live betting experience.
“Our goal is to become a one-stop shop for all sports and betting content, and livestreaming professional sports like hockey is one of the many ways we are reaching that goal.”
Making live betting more fun for customers is certainly a good way to keep bettors engaged. With its new prop bets and deal to stream live games, FanDuel is hoping to do just that.
FanDuel hoping to close Indiana gap with DraftKings
Since sports betting got its start in the Hoosier State, DraftKings has been the top dog.
DraftKings also launched earlier than most of its Indiana competitors.
DraftKings was open for business from day one in the state, while FanDuel launched a few weeks later.
Despite that, FanDuel has been the second-most successful Indiana online sportsbook.
As expected, basketball was the most popular sport to bet on for Hoosiers in January. Throughout the state, basketball racked up a handle of almost $60 million.
Since hockey is not a popular sport to bet on in Indiana, it gets lumped into the “other” category of sports on the Indiana Gaming Commission’s monthly reports. The entire “other” category’s handle was $24 million in January, which wasn’t even half of basketball’s mark.
FanDuel’s new NHL props and livestreams could tap into some potential from that “other” category.
If the sportsbook is able to rev up hockey betting throughout Indiana with those new amenities, it could help close that gap with DraftKings.
Clearly FanDuel sees a potential benefit to pouring resources into NHL betting.
Offering livestreams for games and adding new prop bets for the sport may end up being a nice win for FanDuel in Indiana.
