DraftKings to offer WNBA as a daily fantasy game

NEW YORK (AP) - WNBA daily fantasy players will have more options after DraftKings added the league to its offerings on Friday.

“It’s been on our roadmap since we launched the company,” said Matt Kalish, DraftKings Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer. “Glad we finally (added it), think it will do really well.”

DraftKings has had a sponsorship deal with Madison Square Garden for the past few years. It’s been the marquee name on the New York Liberty’s jersey since 2015. Kalish said it was too early to say if the site would offer any sort of promotions with the Liberty or MSG.

“Having the partnership with MSG and the relationship with the team gives us a lot of options, experience packages, and ticket packages,” he said. “We haven’t gotten into those too, too much. As we start to get a better understanding of the performance that will help us to realize what we can do.”

Daily fantasy games pit people against each other by picking a lineup of WNBA players. DraftKings contests will have participants choosing six WNBA players, which is different than the site’s NBA offerings where eight players are used.

The WNBA entered a partnership with FanDuel before the season started, offering free contests in which participants can win courtside tickets and merchandise among other things. The NBA in 2014 became the first major pro league to partner with FanDuel.

“Since we launched WNBA contests in early May, the response has been incredible,” said FanDuel spokeswoman Justine Sacco. “We had thousands of people play WNBA on opening weekend alone and have had over 1 million entries since the start of the season.”

The announcement comes amid the contraction and reshaping of the daily fantasy sports industry following court and legislative battles last year.

A proposed merger between Boston’s DraftKings and New York’s FanDuel - the industry’s two largest companies - was temporarily halted last month after the Federal Trade Commission challenged it.

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