Draftkings Germany

• Draftkings Sportsbook Germany
• Draftkings Germany League
• Draftkings Germany Team

[toc]US daily fantasy sports site DraftKings officially went live with a beta version in Germany on Thursday.

1. What will DraftKings Germany look like? International operators expanding into Europe have taken different approaches. When FanDuel launched its UK site, for example, it decided to create a completely bespoke offering for the British audience, focusing solely on football.
2. Samantha Beckett DraftKings launched beta-testing in Germany over the weekend, as the company attempted to get back on track with global expansion plans that were disrupted in late 2015.

A quick look at the DraftKings launch

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Earlier this year, DraftKings announced it would be going live in Germany during Q1, thanks to a new skill-games license acquired in Malta. (Fantasy soccer site Oulala is the only other company known to have acquired this license.)

The full suite of DraftKings fantasy contests will be available to the German population, including:

• Soccer
• NFL
• Major League Baseball
• NBA
• NHL
• Golf
• NASCAR
• Esports
• Mixed martial arts

“Germany is known for its passionate sports fans and we are pleased to welcome them to daily fantasy sports,” DraftKings Chief International Officer Jeffrey Haas said in a press release upon launch.

“DraftKings gives everyone the chance to prove they are the best team manager in the world, when they are at the beer garden or on their couch at home. It’s the same fun fantasy sports experience players know and love, but without the season-long commitment.”

More on DraftKings going to Germany

DraftKings UK launched in 2016, adding to its established player base in the US and Canada. Liquidity will be shared throughout all these countries along with Germany.

Sports that are popular in Europe — like soccer — will be a focus in Germany. But DraftKings’ experience has been that DFS based on American sports has done well in the UK. That’s not just with ex-pats, according to Haas, but with the domestic audience.

“It’s much easier for us to cut through with our messaging for American sports fans, than it is for European football, because we’re not competing with hundreds of companies that are trying to reach those consumers,” Haas told Legal Sports Report in an earlier interview.

To wit, DraftKings told LSR it will not be launching contests for Bundesliga, the top German soccer league, in the middle of the current fixture. Instead, DraftKings will hope to have contests go live in the fall, for the start of the next season.

On the American sports front:

• Haas noted that the now defunct NFL Europe had German teams, and that helped create a sizable market of NFL fans.
• Golf is already popular in Germany, as well; DraftKings announced it would be doing a marketing push ahead of next month’s Masters tournament.
• The NBA, with German stars like Dirk Nowitzki, has an established German audience as well.

“Germans show a proclivity for American sports, particularly the NFL and NBA,” said Haas. “Initial testing in Germany shows that our most popular sport has been the NBA, which is why we are opening our beta test to all German sports fans.”

What’s next for DraftKings?

DraftKings staffed an office in Malta in preparation for its launch into that small country and Germany. Further expansion into mainland Europe is likely on the horizon, as the company earlier indicated its desire to go into other European member states.

Haas said the Maltese license would “increase our addressable audience by at least 100 million people.”

However, expansion to countries like Spain, France and Italy is not likely to be in the cards. Those countries are ring-fenced for gaming and generally have high tax rates.

Even though DraftKings is coming off a new funding round reportedly into the nine figures, it appears unlikely that a massive marketing push is going to accompany the German launch. The company inked some partnership deals with teams in the English Premier League upon its UK launch. But the marketing was muted compared to the advertising blitz DraftKings conducted in the US in 2015.

FanDuel has not yet indicated a desire to acquire the same Maltese skill-games license ahead of a planned merger with DraftKings later this year.

A few months ago, we reported on Malta’s decision to introduce a specific licence for daily fantasy sports. This meant more than just a licence for Malta—it provided international operators with an access point to the EU.

Now, we’re seeing one of the biggest impacts of that decision: DraftKings has gained a Maltese licence. Read on to find out more about how that impacts players across Europe—and in the UK.

Background

In 2016, DraftKings began to expand its operations outside of North America with the launch of its UK site. However, in order to operate in the UK, it had to apply for a gambling licence. Whilst this meant that DraftKings were able to quickly enter the UK, it was not ideal for further expansion into the EU.

Draftkings Sportsbook Germany

Meanwhile, in August, the Malta Gaming Authority decided to introduce a specific licence for DFS operators. This was not a gambling licence—instead, it categorised DFS as a game “determined predominantly by skill and knowledge“. In other words, in the battle of skill vs chance, the MGA came down firmly on the side of skill.

At first, this particular licence may seem quite unimportant—after all, Malta is a nation of under half a million. However, Malta is a member of the EU, so this licence matters. Effectively, it gives DFS operators the ability to operate in many EU states—including some very lucrative markets.

The new licences from the Malta Gaming Authority give DFS operators access to lucrative EU markets

DraftKings Makes Its Move

Deciding that the time was right to make its expansion into Europe, DraftKings decided to apply for one of the new Maltese controlled skill games licences. In January, the request was granted, making DraftKings the first company to receive the new licence.

Thanks to EU legislation, the licence means that DraftKings are now free to operate in several new countries. In fact, DraftKings have made no secret of their pan-European intentions. The company’s CIO Jeffrey Haas confirmed to Legal Sports Report that DraftKings would expand to Germany some time in 2017 Q1.

Draftkings Germany League

This doesn’t mean that the company has unfettered access to the EU, however. Several markets, including France and Italy, require operators to be locally based, meaning that the Maltese licence won’t cut it. Nonetheless, the licence represents a big step forward for the company’s global ambitions.

What will DraftKings Germany look like?

Draftkings Germany Team

International operators expanding into Europe have taken different approaches. When FanDuel launched its UK site, for example, it decided to create a completely bespoke offering for the British audience, focusing solely on football. DraftKings UK, meanwhile, was essentially the same site as the North American version. The sports were the same, the look was the same—the site even kept US dollars as its sole currency.

The DraftKings interface is largely the same worldwide

So far, DraftKings appears to have the same plan for its German site. Many of the operator’s existing sports—such as football, golf, and basketball—are popular in Germany, standing DraftKings in good stead to hit the ground running. It also gives German players the chance to compete head-to-head against opponents in the US, UK, and Canada. This means a bigger prize pool for all players, and greater liquidity for the platform as a whole.

While there’s no official launch date for DraftKings Germany just yet, we can’t wait to welcome a whole new nation of DFS fans to the action. Willkommen, Deutschland!