Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs and DraftKings (DKNG -0.87%) have joined forces to make DraftKings the club's official sports betting and daily fantasy partner.
The multiyear deal, announced Thursday, includes plans to open a sportsbook inside 106-year-old Wrigley Field. Online access will also be available in neighboring Wrigleyville, where fans routinely gather for games. The retail sportsbook still needs approval by the City of Chicago, even with sports betting now legal in Illinois.
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DraftKings isn't the first to open a retail sportsbook in a major league sports stadium. MGM Resorts International (MGM -0.33%) recently announced its mobile betting app BetMGM is partnering with the National Football League's Denver Broncos to open a sportsbook lounge in the team's Empower Field at Mile High.
The Wrigley Field location will be DraftKing's second sportsbook in the state. In early August, it announced a new sportsbook in the Casino Queen in East St. Louis. The company currently operates retail locations in seven states. It also announced yesterday that it will be opening a second sportsbook in New Hampshire with DraftKings Sportsbook at Manchester, in South Side Tavern's sports bar.
The Cubs' president of business operations, Crane Kenney, said in a statement that DraftKings has been a partner of the team for a number of years.
DraftKings announced another partnership with a Chicago sports icon earlier this week when it added Michael Jordan as a special advisor in exchange for an equity interest in the company.
