The agreement includes a plan to open what has been described as a first-of-its-kind sportsbook at the Cubs home stadium Wrigley Field, with online availability in the surrounding Wrigleyville area to enable online sports betting.
Despite sports betting being now legal in Illinois after a bill was passed last summer, the retail sportsbook development requires approval by the City of Chicago.
DraftKings North America co-founder and president Matt Kalish, said: “As two organisations that share a mutual passion for innovation and a commitment to excellence, we look forward to working in collaboration with the Cubs, an organisation steeped in tradition, and making our presence felt in and around Wrigleyville.”
Chicago Cubs business operations president Crane Kenney, added: “An increasing number of sports fans want to integrate sports betting into their game experience, and we’re excited to be one of the first to engage in developing a retail sportsbook at a professional sports venue.”
DraftKings is already live in Illinois, operating a retail sportsbook at Casino Queen in East St. Louis, one of eight states it operates in.
Michael Jordan was recently hired as a special advisor to the DraftKings board of directors, while the operator saw revenue rise 24% year-on-year for Q2, up to $70.9m.
