Boyd Gaming to borrow $600 million, readying for reopenings

Boyd Gaming, the US casino partner of Paddy Power owner Flutter, hopes to complete a deal to borrow $600 million this week as it prepares to reopen some of its businesses.

Flutter’s US subsidiary FanDuel offers sports betting in partnership with Boyd Gaming at the latter’s casinos in a number of states. Boyd plans to borrow $600 million in a bond issue it hopes to complete on Thursday. The group originally announced that it would borrow $500 million, but upped the figure to $600 million at the end of last week, The Irish Times reports.

Owner of 29 properties across the US, Boyd says it will use the cash for “general corporate purposes”. It recently furloughed staff as US states implemented Covid-19 restrictions. Reports at the weekend suggested the group could reopen businesses in Mississippi and Louisiana at the end of May. It was also reported that Boyd Gaming could only reopen seven of its ten properties in Las Vegas when permitted by the state, until tourism picks up. The California Hotel, Main Street Station, and the Fremont Hotel might remain closed along the Fremont Street Experience.

FanDuel needs a bricks and mortar presence in the US states where it is licensed to provide digital sports betting. It chose Boyd as its partner in 2018 after a federal court ruling liberalised betting on sports including football, baseball and basketball. Flutter recently completed its merger with Canada’s The Stars Group to create the world’s biggest online gambling company, with businesses in Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia.