Legal Sports Betting

DraftKings to Add Social Function to DFS and Sportsbook Apps

By Bob Wankel

Published: May 7th, 2021 · 11:32 AM EDT

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DraftKings announced plans Friday to add social engagement functionality to its sportsbook and DFS apps.

The integration of a social media component within the DraftKings Sportsbook and DFS apps means that users will have the ability to discuss sports, and, of course, their bets.

As legal sports betting and DFS gaming has gained popularity, becoming an increasingly important part of the overall sports entertainment and viewing experience, the natural impact is that sports fans — and sports bettors — now spend more time talking about their bets.

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As legal online sports betting goes live in more and more states, professional sports leagues, which once shunned the realities of sports betting, have rapidly formed partnerships with sportsbook operators. In turn, amplified discussions about betting odds, betting strategies, and game analysis are taking place on television screens and radio waves as well as on popular social media platforms.

Social media, in particular, lends itself to ongoing discussion about sports betting. Beyond pregame analysis, bettors will have the ability to discuss in-game betting opportunities, commiserate over the ups and downs of following particular bets unfold, and, of course, celebrate the wins and lament the losses.

Such conversations have become increasingly popular on Twitter, as bettors often post screen shots of bet slips, or discuss betting angles. Now, they will be able to hold similar communications right within the betting apps.

What Will The DraftKings Social App Look Like?

We don’t have the full specifics yet surrounding the details this new feature, but we do have a feel for what it will look like.

We are announcing the upcoming rollout of social functionality to our DFS and mobile Sportsbook apps, marking an industry-first innovation to create an integrated social community across sports betting and daily fantasy sports #DKNGEarnings pic.twitter.com/FKH3F4TbrW

— DraftKings News (@DraftKingsNews) May 7, 2021

Based on the image above, the DraftKings social component, like most social apps, appears to offer a public space for open conversations as well as private direct messages, that can be confined between limited parties.

This allows users to join free-flowing conversations and follow trending topics as they would on Twitter, while also having the option to hold one-on-one discussions or conversations between a specific group of users.

When to Expect The DraftKings Social Launch

An exact target date of this launch has yet to be made available, but it sounds like DraftKings Sportsbook and DFS players could see this feature sometime over the next month.

DraftKings CEO Jason Robbins provided some details on the forthcoming launch.

“The launch of DraftKings Social which is expected to roll out over the next few weeks marks an industry-first innovation to create an integrated social community across sports betting and daily fantasy sports, as fans can interact with each other within this shared, peer-to-peer environment.”