DraftKings and Major League Baseball (MLB) have announced an expansion of their existing partnership to include promotional sports betting rights and an additional range of sports betting content.
The expansion will see the implementation of Bet and Watch, a live streaming service that will allow fans with MLB.com and DraftKings accounts to watch free MLB games in the DraftKings app.
DraftKings and MLB also plan on offering sports betting-themed experiences that will be available on the MLB.TV service.
“In 2012, MLB helped ignite the daily fantasy industry by becoming our first-ever league partner, and that same foresight has persisted over the years as our organizations look to disrupt and innovate further through this expansion,” said Matt Kalish, president and co-founder of DraftKings North America.
“As we adapt and scale integrations within the constantly evolving sports landscape, MLB and DraftKings will again shape the future of fan engagement in baseball and beyond.”
The partnership expansion will also see DraftKings act as the official sports betting partner during the MBL postseason, and will have its branding featured at MLB Jewel Events.
These branding features will debut at the 2021 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, where fans will also have the chance to win tickets to the 2021 World Series game through a DraftKings-branded “Hit It Here” zone on the field.
“For nearly a decade, our growing relationship with DraftKings has been rooted in fan engagement and the second-screen immersion of sports gaming and entertainment products,” said Kenny Gersh, MLB executive vice president for business development.
“This next iteration of unique and experiential offerings is something we look forward to rolling out together as baseball fans continue to embrace technological advances.”
Last week, esports provider Engine Media Holdings filed a lawsuit against DraftKings regarding Engine’s Winview Inc. subsidiary.
The suit claims that DraftKings’ gaming services infringe two Winview patents.