The EuroLeague announced on Wednesday that it signed a partnership with DraftKings to make it the basketball league’s “Official Fantasy Partner.”
EuroLeague + DraftKings
The EuroLeague’s deal with DraftKings is the latest development as daily fantasy sports tries to gain a foothold outside of North America. The EuroLeague pits champions of national leagues from many European countries against one another, along with some of the other biggest clubs on the continent.
Terms of the deal were not available, although a spokesperson for DraftKings told Legal Sports Report the deal was multi-year in nature.
Where does DraftKings fit in? According to an announcement from EuroLeague, the DFS operator will “help EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge undergo a makeover and offer fans several new fantasy games and opportunities in both the EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup.”
DraftKings will also “develop a variety of fantasy-products based on the EuroLeague.” DraftKings told LSR that contests will be available globally, including DraftKings UK.
This is one of a number of deals that DraftKings has struck over the years with leagues, including Major League Baseball, NHL, NASCAR and the Canadian Football League, to name a few.
DraftKings looks to add to its reach in Europe
The agreement is the latest attempt by DraftKings — or other fantasy sites — to expand in Europe.
Earlier this year, DraftKings acquired a skill-game license from Malta, which allowed it to start offering DFS contests in Germany.
Other examples of movement in the European market include:
- FanDuel and Yahoo DFS are both now in the UK market, although they have not expanded beyond that, yet.
- The NBA inked a deal with European DFS operator PlayON.
- B2B operator Global Daily Fantasy Sports took over Mondogoal.
FanDuel, DraftKings continue on their own as merger is on the rocks
It’s also obvious that the status quo reigns as a planned merger between FanDuel and DraftKings was thrown into disarray by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is taking legal action to stop the merger.
Since when — or even if — the merger will go through is up in the air, it’s currently each company for itself ahead of the crucial daily fantasy football season.
DraftKings also announced it launched an Android version of its DK Live app on Wednesday.
