DraftKings WSOP Sponsorship Details

Editor update: After DraftKings inked a WSOP sponsorship deal in early 2015, later that year pressure over legalization questions caused DraftKings to cut ties with the poker tournament series.

This post should now be considered a historical archive.

Sponsorships and sports are nothing new, but in recent years the sponsors presence has blossomed to the point where they have essentially become part of the event. Stadiums are no longer called Boston Garden or the Civic Center, and now sport names like TD Bank Garden, Gillette Stadium, and even such outlandish names as Pizza Hut Park.

The inside of these stadiums are also plastered with advertising, and then there are WSOP sponsors like the Barclay’s Premier League, whose individual teams go so far as to put advertisers on their uniforms.

Further proof of this trend could be seen just 30 minutes away from the Super Bowl (which was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium [the online University of Phoenix]), as running alongside the Super Bowl was the Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament.

It was hard to miss the fact that the event was sponsored by Waste Management, with floating advertisements in the course’s ponds, and the WM logo on every caddy bib, and this seems to be the direction golf events are moving towards – primary sponsors who pay a ton of money to overtly promote their brand at an event almost exclusively.

It also appears this trend has now found its way into the poker world. On Monday the World Series of Poker released the schedule for the 2015 WSOP and one tournament in particular caught my eye: Event #55, the $1,500 DraftKings 50/50 No-Limit Hold’em.

This event has two unique features, first is that 50% of the field will be paid, a first in WSOP history, but also the notable addition of an official WSOP sponsor for the event, DraftKings, which is to the best of my knowledge the first time we’ve seen this at the WSOP.

This second aspect has me wondering if this is the way for poker to move forward, perhaps eventually leading to money-added to the event by the official WSOP sponsor.

It’s an intriguing development, if one were to imagine a WSOP schedule where every event was sponsored, with a specific percentage of the sponsorship money going towards the prize-pool.

Money-added will lead to the next Poker Boom

This is actually a long time coming. The ultimate goal all along with poker on TV was to attract mainstream sponsors, which would have two effects.

First, mainstream advertising means you’re getting good ratings and have a good product. And while it may be hard to believe, networks like quality shows with good ratings.

Second, mainstream sponsors would hopefully lead to enough sponsorship money that it could augment the tournament prize-pools.

Instead of poker players being individuals competing against one another on their own dime with the host casino merely a paid venue, the hope was poker players would be part of something bigger, a league/union where there were benefits to being a member.

Players would still have to post a buy-in, but the prize-pool would be larger than the sum of the entry fees.

If this second vision was realized the host casino and the tournament organizers would become a driver of the prize-pool itself, by working out sponsorships with advertisers, instead of merely being the vehicle through which poker is played.

DraftKings sponsorship is a small but important step

Had UIGEA not occurred I believe we would likely already be at the point where there was sponsorship money coming into major events.

Unfortunately, UIGEA derailed the process.

But now, with the WSOP and DraftKings reaching an agreement to sponsor one of the WSOP events, we might be back on the right path. I’m sure other companies are looking at this arrangement and thinking, “Wait a minute, we can do that too.”

DraftKings creative marketing and willingness to explore new advertising means cannot be overstated.

The next step is to continue to increase the number of events at the WSOP that are sponsored – and no, I don’t think sponsorships detract from the event at all. From there it’s a short jump to several companies bidding on the same event and signing multi-year deals with the WSOP and other major tournaments.

At that point there should be enough money flowing in from these deals to perhaps augment the prize-pool. If I was an advertiser I would demand a certain amount of the money paid to the venue for exclusive sponsorship rights be added to the prize-pool, or I would add it myself.

Imagine seeing Event #55: The $50,000 added XYZ Widget $1,500 No Limit Holdem tournament

Considering the attention the Main Event receives, this number could be even higher or perhaps more creative – maybe every November Niner receives a car from Chevrolet or some other company.

This would do three things:

1. It would increase participation in the tournament
2. It makes the sponsor look pretty good to the general public
3. It increases the appeal of airing the tournament on TV

Final thoughts

The agreement between DraftKings and the WSOP could open the door for similar advertising deals, and since the DraftKings event is not a televised tournament, the possibilities are almost limitless for major, televised tournaments, particularly the WSOP Main Event.

Money added tournaments are likely still several years away, but it appears we are back on the right track towards this ultimate goal – and we have DraftKings and the WSOP to thank for it.