DraftKings expands operations to Ireland
The daily fantasy sports company is set to test the Irish market as it is seeking new revenues outside the US.
US.- DraftKings, one of the daily fantasy sports (DFS) giants in the United States, has revealed that it will test the Irish market as the company is trying to obtain revenue outside its home country. The news come two months after the company dropped the merger plans with rival FanDuel.
In a statement released by the company it was confirmed that Ireland has been chosen to be the next European country in DraftKings’ portfolio as they believe that the country has fervent sports fans that will enjoy their brand of daily fantasy sports. The company will offer football leagues including Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, La Liga, La Liga MX, MLS & more, Golf (PGA & European Tour), Mixed Martial Arts, eSports, CFL, EuroLeague Basketball and a range of American Sports, including: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR.
Jeffrey Haas, DraftKings Chief International Officer, commented: “Ireland’s sports culture runs deep, with hundreds of thousands of passionate fans following both ‘proper football’ and ‘gridiron football’ across European and American sports leagues. Irish football fans will find many opportunities to test their wits on DraftKings while enjoying a new way to sweat the action during fixtures. We enhance that connection with our exciting contests, innovative content and real-time sports analysis and data. DraftKings is essentially the second screen for sports fans watching a match at the pub, at home or on the go.”
The company launched the platform along with its Liverpool Match Tickets promotion yesterday. Moreover, DraftKings said that two-thirds of contestants say that they play DFS because it makes watching sports more enjoyable. Approximately 60 percent of DFS contestants report watching games involving teams they don’t usually follow because they are following their fantasy players, and the same number of fantasy sports contestants watch more live sports and read more articles about sports since they started playing manager game contests on DraftKings. Furthermore, 41 percent of DraftKings contestants report watching more sports specific TV programs as a result of playing on DraftKings.
