- FanDuel mobile sportsbooks are now live in two new states; Michigan and Virginia.
- Virginia officially opened their legal sports betting industry with the launch of the FanDuel Sportsbook platform on Thursday.
- There is a 12-cap maximum in the Commonwealth of Virginia for mobile sportsbooks but FanDuel does not count toward that cap as they’re tethered to the Washington Football Team.
RICHMOND, Va. – Virginians got an early launch of the FanDuel Sportsbook platform which went live on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. EST.
This is history in the making for the Old Dominion as it has officially opened up its legal sports wagering industry with this launch.
FanDuel has been the only operation to receive licensure by the Virginia Lottery which has allowed them to debut their platform as the very first sportsbook to do so in 2021 in Virginia with others slated to follow in the future.
The Virginia And Michigan FanDuel Rollouts
FanDuel went live in Virginia on Thursday and opened up their platform to people in Michigan on Friday. Both states will now have the sportsbook available to gamble on the best part of the NFL season, the Conference Title games this weekend followed by the Super Bowl scheduled for February 7.
The back-to-back launching of the application in two separate states was unexpected but definitely welcomed by FanDuel.
Michigan has greenlit ten operators to go live with their internet and mobile sports wagering outlets on Friday and FanDuel is one of the 10 that launched. Sports bettors in the state will have quite a few options to choose from when gambling on the NFL this weekend in the state of Michigan.
What’s Next For Virginia And Michigan
The Virginia Lottery has said that sports fans in the Commonwealth should expect to see at least one more operator go live prior to the Super Bowl.
The process of licensing sportsbooks is currently underway which means more sports wagering applications will open up as soon as they’re given the go-ahead to do so. There were 25 applicants in the Old Dominion seeking to open sports betting platforms but the law currently holds a maximum cap set at 12.
This is something that has become a fluid number because any mobile USA online gambling platform that is tethered to a professional sports team in Virginia will not be counted as part of the 12-maximum cap.
The Virginia General Assembly is also seeing a new piece of legislation for the 2021 session that wishes to increase the number of licenses that the Virginia Lottery can award to applicants who want to operate online and mobile sportsbooks in the Commonwealth.
This includes allowing the four casinos being constructed to not count toward any cap set forth for sports betting platforms within the law.
FanDuel Sportsbook has been tied to the Washington Football Team since 2014 and therefore will not be included as one of the 12 in the cap.
Sports bettors in Virginia can now join the FanDuel mobile sportsbook and gamble on the NFL games or any other wager posted on the platform legally, finally making it a great time to be a Virginian sports fan looking to put some skin in on the matchups in 2021.
As for Michigan, five other online sportsbooks have already been licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board and are expected to launch before the Super Bowl. There is also room for even more online sportsbooks to join the market later.