DraftKings and FanDuel Getting into eSports Contests
Both DraftKings and FanDuel will soon be hosting real money fantasy leagues for competitive video games (a.k.a. eSports). DraftKings first announced its intent to get involved in eSports with a blog post on September 18th introducing the concept of eSports. FanDuel responded just days later with a press release that announced the purchase of AlphaDraft, a fantasy site dedicated to fantasy eSports.
If you’re surprised by the twin announcements, it’s only because you haven’t been following eSports too closely in recent times – but don’t feel bad if you’ve been out of the loop. The eSports industry has experienced massive growth in other parts of the world while flying mostly under the radar in the West. However, things are changing and today’s news is just a preview of things to come.
The eSports industry has been putting up impressive growth and revenue figures in recent years. A May blog post by Super Data Research estimated a global eSports audience of 134 million for an industry now worth $612 million. ESPN estimates a global audience of 205 million.
China and South Korea account for the lion’s share of these numbers, but North America and Europe are catching up. In 2015, for example, corporate sponsorships in North America alone totaled to more than $111 million. The League of Legends Championship managed to fill a 40,000-seat stadium and attract 27 million online viewers in 2014.
With those numbers in mind, the recent interest in eSports makes more sense. DraftKings and FanDuel see the potential to tap a new market and reach a whole new audience. eSports appeal to a young, connected and growing population of gamers with money to spend and time to burn.
DraftKings eSports Fantasy Contests
DraftKings DFS launched fantasy League of Legends (LoL) contests on Wednesday. Just 24 hours later, real money League of Legends contests at the site have attracted more than a hundred thousand entries and one contest boasting a $25,000 prize pool. Entry fees for DraftKings fantasy eSports leagues at range from free to $100 at this point. All buyin levels are already attracting players and paying out prizes.
LoL is the only video game on the lineup at DraftKings for now, but the original announcement post did mention a number of other games including Dota 2, Smite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, StarCraft II, Hearthstone and Street Fighter. There’s no word on when or if these other games will become available at DraftKings.com, but the fact that they took the time to offer a brief description of each game in the blog post seems to indicate an interest in hosting fantasy contests for those games as well.
The FanDuel Deal
A Thursday press release issued by FanDuel DFS broke the news that the leader in DFS has acquired the biggest fantasy eSports provider, AlphaDraft. Although FanDuel has yet to go live with eSports contests, the acquisition marks the starting point for FanDuel’s expansion to new markets.
One of the more interesting lines in the press release was FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles’ outright declaration that there is little crossover appeal between eSports fans and traditional sports fans. FanDuel isn’t just looking to expand its offering; the company wants to crack a completely new market.
The details of the AlphaDraft deal weren’t released, but a company statement said that FanDuel will take advantage of the AlphaDraft team’s experience in fantasy eSports. The AlphaDraft people get a huge boost in visibility and money while FanDuel gets to expand into a market that is showing tons of potential.
Wes Burns has more than a decade’s worth of experience as a writer, researcher and analyst in the legal gambling industry and is co-founder of BettingUSA.com. As a former professional online poker player, Wes approaches his work from the viewpoint of players.
