- Fantasy sports site DraftKings.com has launched a new promotion offering seats to this year’s WSOP Main Event as prizes.
- Fantasy sports provides a fully legal form of online gaming in the US, so DraftKings are offering the chance to win seats to all players, including all US players. The promotion is in partnership with the WSOP.
Fantasy sports site DraftKings.com has launched a new promotion, offering seats to this year’s WSOP Main Event as prizes.
The promotion is in partnership with the WSOP, with DraftKings becoming official fantasy sponsor of this year’s series.
Fantasy Sports is a form of gambling in the US legal in most US states. DraftKings is among a handful of relatively new “daily” fantasy sports sites that blend the elements of seasonal fantasy sports with the immediacy of online gaming—participants still place bets on their draft line-ups, but tournaments and “sit and go’s” last just a day or weekend.
Except for satellites on WSOP’s own online poker rooms in Nevada and New Jersey, DraftKings is the only official way to win a buy-in to the summer series online.
Perfect Line-Up
“There is no doubt the demographics of our customers line up perfectly with those of DraftKings,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart.
$109 satellite events have already started, with online qualifiers starting from $2 to $27. New depositors get a free qualifier entry.
Satellites run until July 1, and offer a prize package that includes $1,000 for flights, six nights accommodation at the Aria Hotel and the $10k Main Event buy in.
In the absence of such competition, DraftKings is seizing the opportunity to attract poker players to fantasy sports while they enjoy the chance to win their seat.
“We have long understood the crossover potential between poker and fantasy sports, so this sponsorship makes perfect sense for DraftKings, the WSOP, and the gaming community overall,” said Anthony Pitts, Head of Marketing for DraftKings.
Paths to the WSOP
Outside the US, 888 is an official WSOP sponsor, with satellites costing just 1c to start a “steps”-like journey to the Main Event. Winamax is also an official partner, operating primarily in the French market.
WSOP, now with online poker rooms operating in New Jersey and Nevada, is naturally offering online satellites to the Summer Series. For players in the rest of the country, Draft Kings offers the only official route to satellite into the Main Event.
There are, of course, many unofficial ways to win a seat at the WSOP, with other online poker rooms offering prizes that include flights, accommodation and money that’s meant to be used to buy a seat.
For those in the States, Bovada, which tenaciously continues to operate in the US market from offshore, ran prize draws last month and has satellites this month, with 12 Main Event packages up for grabs.
