Drone Racing League and FanDuel Reach Partnership For DFS Contest

• Winning the drone racing fantasy game can get bettors up to $3,000 in FanDuel credits.
• The Drone Racing League’s first daily fantasy contest at FanDuel will be free to enter.
• Drone Racing League Tryouts begin on Thursday at 9 p.m. EST.

MIAMI — In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic putting a freeze on the sports world, sportsbooks worldwide have had to get creative to entice bettors to place bets. This has led to a slight boom in alternative betting props such as ping pong, esports, and entertainment betting.

With smaller market sports now finding themselves in the limelight with mainstream sports postponed, sports betting giant FanDuel has reached a partnership with the Drone Racing League (DRL) to allow customers of the site to bet on the DRL SIM Tryouts and will offer daily fantasy contests on the DRL going forward.

A free to enter $3,000 contest on FanDuel will be taking place on Thursday at 9 p.m. EST as the DRL’s first daily fantasy tournament will be taking place.

“We remain as committed as ever to our fans and we’re currently working to develop new and entertaining games for them to engage with,” said Kip Levin, President, FanDuel. “Partnering up with The Drone Racing League allows us to collaborate with an innovative league as we give our fantasy customers more ways to play.”

Tonight’s races will feature 75 pilots from across the world and the winner will receive a chance to go pro and earn a contract for the 2020 DRL Allianz World Championship season. The tryout participation in the DRL has skyrocketed since last year and the league is experiencing a boom in its viewership.

“At a time when fans want access to sports competition more than ever, we’re thrilled to live stream the 2020 DRL SIM Tryouts, a unique esport that transforms gamers into pro drone pilots overnight, and reward fans with prizes through our exciting new partnership with FanDuel,” said Nicholas Horbaczewski, DRL CEO and Founder.

The Drone Racing League is a professional drone racing circuit featuring some of the best virtual pilots in the world. The pilots fly custom-built drones that can reach speeds over 90+ mph through a three-dimensional racecourse from a first-person view. The circuit travels across the United States hosting races at some of the biggest cities win the United States.

“We have always been excited about the potential of fantasy sports and sports betting,” said Horbaczewski. “It’s a sport that’s naturally suited to it, with short, repetitive races with lots of statistics.”

Partnering with FanDuel will certainly boost the popularity of the DRL and will bring a new customer base to the league. Although only FanDuel credits can be won from the DRL contest tonight, the league envisions itself fully integrating into the legal sports betting industry.

“We know our fans want to engage with the sports gamification of it,” said Horbaczewski. “The road to full money-based betting is a long road, we’ve been thinking about it and eager to continue down the road.”

Thursday’s Drone Racing League action can be watched on the DRL’s Twitch, YouTube channel, or Twitter.

News tags: Coronavirus | Drone Racing Betting | Drone Racing League | eSports | FanDuel | Nicholas Horbaczewski | Ping Pong