Remember back at the height of the daily fantasy sports blitz in the United States when you couldn’t go two minutes without running into a DraftKings or FanDuel advertisement? And do you also remember how both those companies swore up and and down that they weren’t sports betting companies and were just simple operators of daily fantasy football competitions? Of course that was then and this is now.
Late last week the DFF monolith, which has very much transitioned to a place of great power in the US sports betting business, signed partnerships with three more NBA teams. The Boston Celtics, the Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers are all signed up to work with DraftKings. It’s also worthy noting that these are brand name NBA franchises, not some forgotten expansion teams working in small markets. DraftKings also has previously established relationships with the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings.
DraftKings Chief Business Officer Ezra Kucharz extolled the virtues of the partnership in a statement published on the Draftkings’ web site saying, “It is with great enthusiasm that we announce these multi-year partnerships with the Celtics, 76ers, and Pacers. The NBA represents DraftKings’ second-most-popular sport, and we are thrilled to offer our fanbase a continually unique and authentic sports gaming product. Each of these partnerships (represents) a common strategy and stress the importance NBA teams and DraftKings place on fan engagement and overall customer experience.”
Draftkings has definitely established itself as one of the major American sports betting operators and these latest deals only solidify that status.