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ALBANY – Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. has agreed to a tentative deal with FanDuel.
Western Regional OTB recently signed a memorandum of understanding to enter a financial arrangement with FanDuel, the Manhattan-based fantasy sports company pushing to legalize the contests.
“We feel it’s very fair,” said Michael Kane, president of Western Regional OTB, which is owned by 15 counties in the region, as well as the cities of Buffalo and Rochester.
He declined to provide financial details of the agreement, which is not final and has not received state approval.
The Western Regional OTB is the only OTB corporation in the state that owns and operates a casino, located in Batavia. It has taken a different stance than the state’s other casino operators, which have sought to restrict daily fantasy licenses to in-state casinos instead of big fantasy sports companies like FanDuel and Boston-based DraftKings.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman last year stopped those two firms from operating in New York, saying they are illegal “games of chance.” The fantasy sports firms maintain their activities are legal games of skill.
The litigation between the attorney and companies is on hold while state lawmakers consider whether to make the contests legal.
Senate and Assembly lawmakers say there is now a deal to this effect, and legislation could pass as soon as Friday morning. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not taken a stand on the legislation, but lawmakers insist he has agreed.
If fantasy sports is legalized, Kane said his OTB and FanDuel will finalize their memorandum and seek approval from the state Gaming Commission.
Kane said the OTB had an earlier fantasy sports deal with Sports Tech, but walked away two weeks ago. FanDuel “reached out to us on a Saturday morning out of nowhere,” leading to the quick signing of a memorandum, he said.
In a June 6 document outlining the arrangement, FanDuel said OTB could benefit by FanDuel helping to drive more bettors into the Batavia casino along with “co-branded (daily fantasy sports) contests that FanDuel will promote to its users.”
The fantasy sports company noted several existing co-branding deals, such as jerseys, helmets and baseballs signed by a who’s who of current and former pro athletes, including Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning, as well as cross-promotional efforts with companies such as Budweiser.
FanDuel pitched a “live event tournament” for each of the four major pro-sports leagues to OTB, with various come-ons to entice people to go to the Batavia casino and bring them to the fantasy sports contests.
The FanDuel document lists some of the company’s other partners, including the NBA, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and 16 NFL teams, including the Buffalo Bills.
“As a public benefit corporation, we feel it’s easily within the interest of our owners: the municipalities,” Kane said.
In a written statement about the Capitol battle between fantasy sports companies and casinos, Justine Sacco, a FanDuel spokeswoman, said, “The gaming lobby’s position never made any sense, and this is proof positive of why.” 
The casino companies have argued that fantasy sports companies will bring few jobs to New York while hurting existing brick-and-mortar facilities at racetracks and commercial casinos. 
“Fantasy sports can be an economic driver across the state,” Sacco said. “We have partnerships with dozens of New York companies, from the Buffalo Bills, Nets and Jets to local catering companies and event services. The opportunities for bringing our players together for live events are nearly endless, and smart companies like Batavia see the opportunity.”