FanDuel is making fantasy sports even faster.
The daily fantasy sports site is rolling out FanDuel Turbo, an app that is fantasy sports taken to the in-game level.
A closer look at FanDuel Turbo
The new offering is available in the App Store and on Google Play.
Right now, it’s just for NBA games, and it’s designed to be played at arenas as an in-game experience. It does not appear to include contests where you can wager real money.
Here is the description from the Google Play store:
FanDuel Turbo is a first-of-its-kind NBA basketball experience you play at the arena while watching live NBA games. Get buckets, rack up stats — and win prizes each quarter!
Play for free by selecting a player for each quarter. When your player & the home team are getting hot, press the Turbo button to multiply your scoring and shoot up the leaderboard.
Top the leaderboard each quarter and win perks, merch & more. Have the highest overall score at the final buzzer to win that game’s Turbo champion prize.
Check the app for a schedule of games where you can play FanDuel Turbo. More NBA teams are being added throughout the season.
It’s the first time either DraftKings or FanDuel will offer a non-salary cap style game.
Which teams?
Legal Sports Report has reached out to FanDuel for more details on the product, and which teams will be available for the product.
FanDuel announced relationships with 13 NBA teams earlier this year, and Legal Sports Report currently has 14 team partnerships in our sponsorship tracker. (The L.A. Lakers were not a part of the mass announcement this summer.)
FanDuel also has a partnership with the NBA.
More on in-game fantasy
Part of the draw of daily fantasy is the engagement it creates for sports fans, and the interest it can drive in watching events. But even DFS only provides passive engagement during sports. You make your picks, and then you watch as your players score points. In-game creates active engagement.
ESPN recently delved more into the issue in a story called “The inevitable rise of real-time fantasy sports”
This is certainly not the first time that there has been an “in-game” style fantasy platform, but it is the first from either of the two major DFS operators. (This is not meant to be an exhaustive list).
- Daily MVP had a similar concept in a prior relationship with the NHL’s Washington Capitals, where fans could make picks in-game.
- Fanamana has fantasy baseball where you pick players in real-time.
- New site PickChamps has real-time elements with a “live pick” functionality.
- Two new companies — WinView and RingIt! — are rolling out free-to-play games where you can make picks in real time.
