DraftKings has been involved in sports betting for many years now, yet they haven’t included any live streaming into the platform as of yet. This could all be about to change as we head into , and we have produced a review of what we expect to see with the DraftKings live stream below.
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Sports That Could be Streamed
Content
DraftKings already has a really well put together live news platform, which has been combined with statistics for individual players and teams. But despite how good this platform may be, there are still no live streaming services. However, as touched on, this could all change over the coming 12 months! Based on the sports that DraftKings has available in their sportsbook, we have produced our anticipated list of sports that members could stream at some point in .
⦁ Tennis
This is already one of the most popular events listed with DraftKings, so this is one of the first live stream integrations we would expect to see. There are quite relaxed regulations in the USA for tennis streaming, so we would expect to find ATP / WTA events from the 1000 level and above.
⦁ Soccer
When you look up the live events on the DraftKings sportsbook, there is almost always a soccer event being covered. Whether it is top-tier English soccer, MLS soccer or the Coupe de France, chances are that there is a live bet available! This is why we believe that soccer is an incredibly strong candidate for live streaming implementation on DraftKings.
⦁ Hockey
We don’t really need to emphasize just how popular the NHL is in North America, since the fan hype and Internet coverage speaks for itself. And as a sport that shows plenty of events on a weekly basis with DraftKings, we would be amazed if this wasn’t included into the live stream services. There’s just something about the ice and the aggression that really appeals to USA sports fans, so we are fairly confident that this will be included.
⦁ Basketball
DraftKings already has a bit of a competitive advantage given that they cover college basketball, but they also cover an extensive range of NBA games. With this reality, we thoroughly expect live streaming to become available for basketball events. We would love the site to live stream college basketball, but the regulations are still somewhat questionable for this since companies like ESPN already have coverage rights. It is more likely that NBA games will become available first, but college basketball is still a possibility.
⦁ MMA
With some of the fittest and most ruthless athlete’s on the planet going against one another in a steel cage, what’s not to love with MMA? Well, DraftKings certainly seems to be a fan of MMA games! They typically have a market available for every single fight taking place during popular events. And with icons like Nurmagomedov and McGregor still lurking around the UFC, we don’t feel that MMA will miss out on live streaming integration!
This is just a handful of the sports that DraftKings could include, and we have listed these based on popularity and the likelihood that they will obtain the rights to cover the events. So while these events could be implemented, we feel that the requirements to access live streaming with DraftKings will follow a slightly different format.
Possible Requirements
It is commonly the case that online sportsbooks simply require either a funded account or a recent bet to access live streams. But based on information available online, we are inclined to say that the requirements might be different with DraftKings. We have found information to suggest that DraftKings may initially allow one free game per week, but then unlimited live streams may be based on a subscription service.
We have reason to believe that this could be as low as $3 per week, and this is likely going to be implemented to cover the increased costs of providing live streaming services. It could well be more than this or it could be a little less, but only time will tell. There could also be different levels of live streaming subscriptions, such as subscriptions allowing several streams a week all the way to unlimited streaming capacity.
As of this moment it is too tough to say for sure, but these are our predictions. We can say a few things with absolute certainty however, which is the fact that you will need to follow a few steps before having access to live streaming:
⦁ Create an account
Creating an account through the DraftKings sportsbook is quite simple, and after visiting the homepage for the first time you should see the sign in link. You need to provide details such as full name, USA residential address, contact number and an on-screen name to open an account. Note that sports betting with DraftKings is only permitted in a few States right now (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Indiana), and this may well be the same for live streaming rights – especially in the early stages.
0. Check the live section for live streaming games
The DraftKings sportsbook already has a segregated section for live betting, and we would think that the live streams would also follow this format. Of course not all games for our proposed sports will be available, but you could well see a ‘play’ icon next to the event if live streaming is available. By clicking this button you will start the live stream, of course also providing that you have the rights to live streaming based on your account status.
Just to reiterate, these are our opinions and the actual specifics could change after the product fully launches. And there are just a couple of other expectations for the DraftKings live stream product before we wrap up this review.
Additional Features
Live Stream on Mobile
There are a few key reasons that we expect DraftKings to make this feature available on mobile devices. Firstly, they already have a sports betting app that facilitates live betting and a full range of sports. And arguably, the mobile app is even easier to use than the desktop site. Secondly, their sportsbook covers some of the most live betting markets seen with any other USA sports bookmakers.
These two reasons together make us truly believe that live streaming has to be available from the mobile app. And lastly, DraftKings already has an app by the name of ‘DK Live’. This is merely an app that focuses on statistics and news articles right now, but we believe that it is an indicator that DraftKings already plans to make an app to cover live streaming. It could even be the case that they have an app solely for live streaming eventually, but this remains to be confirmed.
Advancing into Other States
We’ve already established that sports betting with DraftKings can only be done from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana and West Virginia. So once live streaming has been fully incorporated, we do expect to see it roll out into these States first of all. However, with recent indications that the brand will expand into Kansas, Illinois and Michigan, we firmly expect to see live streaming rapidly enter the range of services for these States too.
Of course for this to become a reality the brand has to make a conscious effort to venture into these States, but it’s certainly looking like this will happen. There’s still a few hurdles to overcome and a fair bit of red-tape for DraftKings to get beyond, but since they’ve already built the brand from fantasy sports into a fully fledged sports betting platform, we know that they have the dedication and the initiative to get these sorts of things done!
Conclusion
All of the information provided throughout this piece is merely informed opinion, and it should be taken as such. However, we have analyzed credible Internet sources as well as the actual DraftKings site to make these educated guesses on how the live stream feature will be implemented.
The brand is already incredibly well known in the States where it is available (PA, WV, IN, NJ), so it’s not like they are a brand that is in their infancy. And they’ve managed to continue this credibility and recognition despite increasing competition.
The only concern that we really have is for North American based sports, since there are so many large companies that have already purchased exclusive coverage rights. So while we have stated that sports like NHL, NBA and MMA could be implemented, this is subject to so many factors that are unfortunately out of DraftKings hands. But given the relaxed regulations for overseas sporting events like Grand Slam tennis and European soccer leagues, it’s certainly going to be an easier task to implement these events first.
With all of this uncertainty and educated guesses however, we are confident in one thing. DraftKings is a brand that has risen from essentially nothing into a major online player, which shows that they are in business for the long run. And since this is the case, it’s only a natural process of business that they will increase their offerings – with live stream as one of the main features on the horizon!