DraftKings, the world’s largest Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) platform, today announced its launch in Ireland. Players from the Emerald Isle can now test their sports knowledge and DFS skills against players from across North America and Europe. DraftKings will offer proper 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 as well as an extensive range of American Sports, including: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR.

“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.” – said Jeffrey Haas, DraftKings Chief International Officer.

The launch of the platform kicked off with DraftKings’ Liverpool Match Tickets promotion on October 9. The winner of the contest will be awarded tickets to the upcoming Liverpool FC vs. Manchester United FC match on October 14, 2017. Interested players can sign up and participate here.

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DraftKings prioritized Ireland as an expansion market due to the country’s fervent sports fans. According to The Philip Lee Sport Report II, there are 2.7 million people in Ireland interested in sports – of that, 2.1 million attended professional and amateur sporting events in 2016. Additionally, Ireland spent €2.5 billion on the sports industry last year.

Daily Fantasy Sports enhances the overall sports media market, adding value to nearly all aspects of the sports experience. In a survey of DraftKings customers, almost half of players have started following another sport since playing DraftKings, and nearly 80% of players have increased their sports content consumption. Fantasy sports players engage with more content (TV, radio, online and print) than non-players. Also:

• Two-thirds of contestants say that they play DFS because it makes watching sports more enjoyable.
• 60% of DFS contestants report watching games involving teams they don’t usually follow because they are following their fantasy players.
• 60% of fantasy sports contestants watch more live sports and read more articles about sports since they started playing manager game contests on DraftKings.
• 41% of DraftKings contestants report watching more sports specific TV programs as a result of playing on DraftKings.

About Daily Fantasy Sports

• Daily Fantasy Sports, also known as ‘Football Manager Games’, both in its traditional season-long and daily or weekly format, are a game of skill. They are an extension of the traditional season-long manager games that many sports fans are most familiar with.
• DFS Contest outcomes do not rely on the winners or point differential of the real-life sporting events. Scoring is based on cumulative statistical performances of a group of real-life athletes.
• Players can choose to enter from a full suite of contests made for different skill-levels:
  • Beginner only games: Only ‘beginner and casual players’ can participate.
  • Casual contests: Available to any user who doesn’t have a Highly Experienced Player (HEP) badge; this is typically acquired when a player plays in 500 contests.
  • Leagues: The first-of-its-kind private, customized contest for individuals to play with friends and family. Leagues was launched based on direct feedback from DraftKings players in the US, Canada and the UK, for a more personalized social experience, and will be a great offering for new players in Ireland.

DraftKings’ launch in Ireland comes 18 months after first opening in Europe and six months after its launch in Germany following the acquisition of a Controlled Skill Games License in Malta. In the UK, September 2017 saw 51% year-over-year growth in entry fees and 31% year-over-year growth in new customers. In Germany, September saw 46% month-over-month growth in registered customers, the largest monthly growth to-date. DraftKings intends to continue expanding its geographic footprint, both in Europe and elsewhere.

All seasonally-available DraftKings sports and contests are currently live, and Irish sports fans can access them at https://ie.draftkings.com

About DraftKings 

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DraftKings is an innovative sports-tech entertainment platform changing the way consumers engage with their favorite sports, teams and athletes by bringing fans closer to the game. DraftKings, headquartered in Boston, MA, offers daily and weekly fantasy sports contests across ten professional sports. Founded in 2012 by Jason Robins, Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman, DraftKings is the daily fantasy sports partner of Major League Baseball, The National Hockey League, NASCAR, Canadian Football League, NFL International Series and the English Premier League club, Liverpool FC. DraftKings makes sports better and better sports fans by creating the ‘Game Inside the Game.’