Friday, June 12, 2026

Sports Betting Operators in for Long Haul

  • As sports betting surges, operators are working to establish long-term relationships.
  • Penn National and Rush Street Interactive each announced 20-year partnerships.
Design: Alex Brooks/Front Office Sports

As sports betting surges, operators are working to establish long-term relationships. 

On Tuesday, Penn National Gaming Inc. announced a strategic partnership with Capital Region Gaming allowing the Pennsylvania-based gaming company to operate in New York once state lawmakers approve mobile sports wagering. 

The deal lasts for 20 years. Capital Region operates Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, New York, giving Penn National an immediate home. 

“Gaining potential access to what could become one of the nation’s most lucrative sports betting markets has been a major priority for our company,” said Jon Kaplowitz, Penn National’s senior vice president of interactive gaming.

But Penn National isn’t the only sports betting operator getting in on the action early and establishing a long-term foothold across the U.S.

  • On Monday, Rush Street Interactive, Inc. announced that it will offer its online casino and sports betting platform, BetRivers.com, for up to 20 years in Ohio, Maryland, and Missouri. 
  • RSI currently operates in eight states with a combined population of over 68 million. With the addition of Ohio, Maryland, and Missouri, RSI could reach more than 35% of the U.S. population.
  • This past September, Flutter Entertainment and Scientific Games agreed to a five-year extension after first partnering in 2000.
  • In 2019, PointsBet agreed to a 20-year partnership with Hawthorne Race Course in Illinois.

Everyone in the gaming industry will be locked up in contracts until 2040 before we know it.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up for
The Memo Newsletter

Get the biggest stories and best analysis on the business of sports delivered to your inbox twice every weekday and twice on weekends.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

New Mexico United fans wave the team's flag at the Locomotive's home opener game Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Southwest Univerity Park in El Paso, Texas.
exclusive

Trump Admin Targets New Mexico With Prediction-Market Lawsuit

New Mexico is the eighth state recently sued by the CFTC.
Soccer Football - LaLiga - Osasuna v Atletico Madrid - El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain - May 12, 2026 Atletico Madrid's Alexander Sorloth in action with Osasuna's Valentin Rosier

What Really Happened With the Spanish Soccer Team and Kalshi

The club said it wanted to clear up its actions after “recent reports.”
Courtesy: Jake Epstein

Knicks Run Is New Front in the Kalshi-Polymarket Marketing War

Prediction-market platforms have capitalized on the Knicks’ Finals run.
Fanduel

FanDuel Is Latest Gambling Company to Cut Jobs

Sources tell FOS a few hundred people were laid off last week.

Featured Today

Ai sports slop

How Sports Became Ground Zero for AI Slop

The category is the perfect breeding ground for AI content churn.
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - UEFA Qualifiers - Group A - Germany v Luxembourg - Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim, Germany - October 10, 2025 Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann
June 4, 2026

‘Weird Corners of the World’: How to Find a World Cup Coach

National associations look for a winning record—and also hope for serendipity.
June 3, 2026

The Elite High Schools Hosting World Cup Teams

Spain, Morocco, Croatia, and Switzerland chose schools as their tournament base camps.
Frances Cabral-Delaney
May 29, 2026

How Arsenal Fandom Went ‘Manic’

“People do not become Arsenal fans because it’s easy,” says Zohran Mamdani.
In this photo illustration, a mobile device displays the Kalshi logo while a laptop displays the webpage of the prediction market platform in Copenhagen, Denmark, on February 10, 2026. (Photo by Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto)

CFTC’s Proposed Rules Won’t Quiet Prediction-Market Critics

Markets tied to physical altercations or referee decisions would be flagged.
May 26, 2026

Trump Decries Prediction-Market Detractors As ‘Scum’

The president’s son is an investor in Polymarket and an advisor to Kalshi.
Reuters FILE PHOTO: Kalshi logo appears in this illustration created on April 22, 2026.
June 1, 2026

DraftKings Cofounder ‘Loves’ Prediction Markets Despite Attacks

Matt Kalish credits Kalshi with fighting legal and regulatory battles for the entire industry.
Sponsored

World Cup Betting Preview: Big Kickoff in USA, Canada, and Mexico

A look at the key betting storylines with BetMGM heading into the tournament, including favorites, dark horses, and top scorer odds.
May 24, 2026

Sportradar Hit With Lawsuit Over Alleged Illegal Gambling Ties

The suit alleges investors were harmed by shady overseas business conduct.
Mark Cuban
May 20, 2026

Mark Cuban: ‘Betting Isn’t the Problem’

These wagers have been behind the recent MLB and NBA gambling scandals.
Jun 12, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), left, alongside Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL), right, and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), not shown, testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on state immigration enforcement policy in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2025.
May 19, 2026

Trump Admin Sues Minnesota to Block Prediction-Market Ban

Minnesota is the sixth state the federal regulator has sued.
DraftKingsApp
May 18, 2026

DraftKings Cofounder: Kalshi Is Years Away From Competitive Product

Kalshi responded with a gif from the movie “Mean Girls.”