DASH & FANDUEL PARTNERSHIP - Crypto Comes to Fantasy Sports

big-e (56)in #cryptocurrency • 6 years ago (edited)

Photos Courtesy of 5th Down Fantasy and Proteus on Medium

I have to admit, I am a couple weeks late on this article, but earlier this month FanDuel and Dash (#DASH) officially announced a partnership.

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) August 1, 2018

We’re excited to announce our partnership with Dash, the Official Cryptocurrency Partner of FanDuel! Stay tuned for updates on this exciting partnership! pic.twitter.com/0O2tjz61Tt

Dash, otherwise known as digital cash, is one of the worlds largest and most popular cryptocurrencies. It features fast, instant, private transactions as well as a self-funded, self-governed organizational structure. For more information visit Dash's official website here. As of this writing, Dash currently has the 13th highest market cap with each Dash valued at just under $189 USD. FanDuel, on the other hand, is a U.S. based daily fantasy sports company. FanDuel is one of the most popular and largest daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites worldwide with over 6 million registered users. More information, such as this, can be found on FanDuel's website here.

THIS PARTNERSHIP IS BIG NEWS. Not only for me and my love of all things fantasy sports but in general for the cryptocurrency world. You have one of the largest fantasy sports companies partnering with one of the worlds largest cryptocurrencies.....how is that anything but exciting! On FanDuel, users deposit cash and then build fantasy sports lineups to compete head to head or in large tournaments. The winner of these competitions collects cash awarded prizes. To deposit on FanDuel, as well as other DFS sites, users either link a debit/credit card or utilize PayPal. This is where cryptocurrency, such as Dash, can step-in and capitalize. Although deposits to FanDuel and other sites are instant, users are still required to use an intermediary such as a bank or PayPal.

We all know the benefits cryptocurrency adds to our financial lives but as of now, there are very few real life use cases and those use cases that do exist are typically niche type of markets. You may be reading this article saying, yea but I don't really play fantasy sports nor do I have an account with any DFS site, so how does Dash and FanDuel offer anything more than another niche type use case? While that may be true and you may never play, the DFS and fantasy sports industry offers an immense real life use case for cryptocurrency and Dash. As I mentioned, FanDuel alone has 6+ million users registered. According to the New York State Gaming Commission, which provides industry revenue estimates across the U.S., daily fantasy sports sites generated nearly $350 million per year in revenue from 2016-2017 (credit Legal Sports Report for gathering the data for 2016 and 2017). Thats nearly $700 million worth of revenue just from DFS alone over the last two years. Thats mega bucks that could potentially be involving cryptocurrencies.

But thats not all. If we are looking for consistent transactions and use-case for cryptocurrency, DFS sites offer the premier opportunity. In 2017 alone, over $3 billion in entry fees were entered by all players across the U.S. Unlike the revenue numbers shown above, the entry fee calculations show just how much money is going in and out of DFS on a yearly basis. Aka, a ton of transactions are occurring each year in DFS, which is exactly what cryptocurrency needs. Should Dash be readily adopted by the community, there is potential for a massive uptick in real life use case transactions within the Dash network.

So why Dash and why FanDuel? Well, back during the NBA season, FanDuel and Dash teamed up to offer an NBA contest where the top prizes were awarded in Dash. It was a Dash sponsored contest, free for anyone to join, not unlike many other contests on FanDuel sponsored by various companies and products. The partnership at the time was not in place, however, according to Dash Force News, the success of that contest led to the eventual partnership.

This is super exciting for the crypto community but we have temper our expectations for the moment. All things start small. What we have is an official partnership between FanDuel and Dash. However, as of now, the only activity between the two is another Dash sponsored contest where prizes are awarded in Dash instead of cash.

Photo Courtesy of FanDuel Twitter Account

Known as the FanDuel Crypto Cup (presented by Dash), the contest is an NFL free play starting Week 1 of the NFL season. Prizes are awarded to the top-5 places, anywhere from $50 to $500 worth of Dash. It does appear, according to the official FandDuel twitter account, that more Crypto Cup - Dash featured contests will be available throughout the NFL season. More importantly, according to Dash Force News insight, FanDuel has every intention to create a user deposit/landing page where Dash can be deposited in return for FanDuel credits. Meaning Dash could be apart $3 billion worth of entry fees and transactions that take place each year. A slice of the pie, if you will.

Screenshots Credited to My Personal FanDuel Account

For crypto, evolution will only occur with everyday usability. I truly believe this partnership and the ability to use Dash in the DFS industry is a great step in the right direction. Hopefully the partnership between Dash and FanDuel continues to grow and we see more wide-spread adoption of crypto throughout the DFS industry.

This is by no means a plug for FanDuel but if you haven't already created an account on FanDuel and would like to sign up and join the official FanDuel Crypto Cup - NFL Week 1 contest, please consider following my affiliate link below. We both will receive a bonus and who knows, maybe one of us will come away with some free Dash!