FanDuel Also Getting Into eSports Fantasy Contests
Did you think it would just be DraftKings that would throw their hat into the eSports ring, uncontested? It, too, has a fantasy opponent, with FanDuel announcing one day later that the company has acquired AlphaDraft, a site aimed at competitive video gaming for fantasy contest purposes. The story was reported by Re/code, emphasizing just how competitive this newly-formed market will likely be in the coming years.
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For example, despite AlphaDraft looking for $25 million to be acquired by a larger corporation, multiple sources to Re/code confirm that the company was purchased for less. It’s all in part to tap into the 134 million people watching or participating in eSports around the world, and it seems like the FanDuel approach will be to grow an eSports entity by swallowing a group that seems to know what they’re doing and give the division some funding to accomplish their goal of being competitive in the fantasy marketplace.
And with that, the nature of eSports and their standing within the mainstream media begins to grow. DraftKings and FanDuel didn’t invent fantasy sports or fantasy-related betting, but their prevalence in athletic sports turning towards what both feel is the next logical conclusion is an important step towards making eSports relevant in a larger market. Who knows, when you have ESPN 2 airing Heroes of the Storm on Sunday night, who knows how long it will take before we start to see League of Legends or Dota 2 on ESPN proper?
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