A new subsidiary market in the daily fantasy sports industry emerged recently, as DailyFantasyLobby.com launched a “super lobby” that aggregates contests from FanDuel and DraftKings.
What’s a ‘super lobby’?
The new website, which went live in February, is the first of its kind in the DFS industry. Before DFL launched, there were basically two major markets in DFS: operators (sites providing daily fantasy contests) and media (sites providing updates and analysis about playing contests).
The new site is another tool for daily fantasy sports players, taking every contest on the two largest DFS sites and putting them in one convenient lobby.
Just like the lobbies for FanDuel and DraftKings, players can sort contests across both sites using a variety of criteria:
- Sport
- Prize pool
- Entry fee (the lobby can be sorted in order, or a slider can provide a range of buy-ins desired)
- Current number of entries
- Maximum number of entries
- Starting time
- Tournament type (50-50, head-to-head, leagues, and multipliers)
A button next to each contest takes players to the actual contest on FanDuel or DraftKings.
The really good stuff
There are also a few options you won’t find at the lobbies at FanDuel and DraftKings:
- Rake: The lobby tells players what percentage of each entry fee goes to the site itself; also sortable
- Overlay: If a contest features a guaranteed prize pool, the lobby tells players how far under the guarantee the contest is, vis a vis entry fees; sortable by amount of overlay
Just these two tools alone would have the potential to make DailyFantasyLobby a gamechanger, as it provides data that isn’t easily accessible. A tracker at the top of the website also keeps tabs on the total amount of guaranteed prize pools available across both sites, as well as the total amount of overlay across all contests.
As new as DFS is, it’s fair to wonder how many players are even aware of the concepts of rake and overlay. An explainer at the DFL website lays it out for users.
All told, it provides DFS players with a way to easily compare the contests at DraftKings and FanDuel, and to find the best value for their money with a couple of clicks.
Who is behind it?
David Copeland, a Scottish entrepreneur, launched the site. He is best known for starting an iGaming career and recruitment site called BettingJobs.com, which he grew from a one-man operation.
Already familiar with the online gaming landscape, Copeland appears ready to tackle the DFS market.
The next step?
While there aren’t a ton of bells and whistles on the site so far — other than the great data it provides for players — clearly the idea of the “super lobby” has room for growth. Among the possibilities:
- A mobile app
- Contests from other daily fantasy sports operators
- More data (i.e. comparison of salary cap values for players at multiple sites).
As daily fantasy sports matures as an industry, entrepreneurs will try to identify viable ancillary markets. DailyFantasyLobby.com is the first to the market with one of these ideas.
