Flutter Entertainment's (FLUT 0.01%) FanDuel, the country's biggest sportsbook, just became the official provider of sports betting odds to The Associated Press (AP).
In an unusual arrangement, Axios reports FanDuel will pay the AP to carry its odds across all of the news organization's global sports reports. While the AP says it will retain full editorial control over the news, FanDuel's branded content will appear via widgets on the site.
Image source: Getty Images.
According to the agreement, FanDuel's odds will be cited on its sports pages with links leading back to the sportsbook's home page, not its betting pages, in an attempt to avoid any sort of affiliate marketing relationship.
It's not clear that the AP has ever entered into an arrangement like this before, but it contends the move is being done for consistency and that FanDuel is a reputable firm.
AP's global director of text and new markets products Barry Bedlan said: "As sports betting becomes more commonplace, our customers are increasingly asking for this kind of information. It makes sense to work with one of the largest, reputable sportsbooks in the United States to provide a consistent, credible reference point for AP and its customers."
Flutter Entertainment had been considering listing a small percentage of its ownership stake in FanDuel, following the lead of DraftKings, Genius Sports, and other online betting platforms, but with the announcement that the sportsbook's CEO would be leaving the position, it's no longer certain an offering will occur.
