DraftKings continued to solidify its position in the sports-betting market, announcing two new deals with Major League Baseball and the Professional Golfers Association respectively.
The deal with MLB names DraftKings as an authorized gaming operator with the league, meaning it can use MLB logos and will have access to official league data.
“DraftKings is proud to be designated as a Major League Baseball Authorized Gaming Operator,” said Ezra Kucharz, chief business officer at DraftKings in a press release. “This deal speaks to the commitment we have to our customers and sports leagues alike while providing the safest and most entertaining American-made sportsbook. As a result of this agreement, our customers will experience enhanced live wagering offerings for all MLB games.”
The deal is a small win for MLB in that a major sportsbook has signed on to use official league data. MLB and other professional leagues have been pushing to have sports-betting laws requires the use of official data, but so far have seen little success on the legislative front.
The data push is seen as a way of ensuring the league gets some financial benefit from the emerging sports-betting market in the U.S. in place of charging an “integrity fee,” another idea that’s been largely ignored by state legislatures.
“Buoyed by our collective commitments to drive innovation in the U.S. sports betting marketplace, the tools provided to DraftKings—including fast, rich and reliable data feeds and MLB brand marks—will be central to creating these powerful new ways to consume and connect with our sport,” said Kenny Gersh, MLB executive vice president, gaming and new business ventures in the release.
DraftKings is already the official daily fantasy partner of MLB in a deal signed in 2015.
Almost simultaneously, DraftKings also announced it has been named official daily fantasy sports partner of the PGA Tour.
“We are excited to partner with DraftKings, an industry leader in innovation and fan engagement, in this groundbreaking step for the PGA Tour,” said Luis Goicouria, PGA Tour senior vice president of media in a press release. “The partnership with DraftKings provides the Tour with a unique opportunity to innovate in a new industry and to further engage our fans.”
Under the deal, DraftKings will brand its PGA fantasy game the “PGA Tour DraftKings Fantasy Golf” and fantasy players will have the ability to receive real-time video highlights for golfers in their respective lineups. The deal will also create expanded Draft Fantasy Sports specific content offerings, as well as allow for brand integration into both the PGA Tour and DraftKings platforms.
The PGA Tour and DraftKings will collaborate on a variety of real-time product enhancements via the PGA Tour’s proprietary ShotLink data feed, the release said.
“Golf continues to grow in popularity among DFS players globally at DraftKings and is our fourth-largest sport in terms of engagement, out of 15 total offerings.” said Kucharz. “Our partnership with the PGA Tour signals a mutual commitment to excellence in customer experience along with a new era in golf fandom and engagement.”
DraftKings also announced a third new partnership, this time with Penn National Gaming in Pennsylvania. While Penn announced new partnerships with DraftKings Sportsbook, PointsBet, theScore and The Stars Group, it’s the first deal struck by DraftKings with a Pennsylvania casino to offer sports betting.
Finally, keeping up its whirlwind pace, DraftKings announced it’s opening a live online casino-games studio at the Hard Rock Atlantic City Casino. Through its New Jersey partnerships, DraftKings has introduced online casino gaming along with its online sportsbook in the state.
The studio will allow DraftKings to provide live dealers 24/7 rather than its current 15 hours a day. DraftKings worked with Evolution Gaming to develop the studio. The space will include six tables, five of which will offer blackjack, the company said in a press release.
