DraftKings to Launch NFTs in Marketplace as a first Major Push beyond Betting

In July 2021, DraftKings announced intentions to create DraftKings Marketplace, a digitized collectible environment aimed at the public that includes tailored NFT releases and secondary-market trades. Thousands of consumers will purchase, trade, and exchange digital objects encompassing sporting, art, and entertainment, utilizing their current DraftKings profile once they release it.

DraftKings Marketplace would be the sole supplier of sports-related NFT material from the NFT portal Autograph, which uses authorized licenses of renowned sportsmen and celebs to create a broad range of digital artifacts, as an aspect of the new strategic partnership.

The NFT craze has reshaped the collections business and sparked enthusiasm among first movers throughout the globe, such as the DraftKings team, according to Matt Kalish, co-founder, and chairperson of DraftKings.

“DraftKings Marketplace will be at the epicenter of these technical and cultural phenomena, offering a readily accessible experience that matches all traditional markets to our massive existing client population.”

“This first concept, developed in partnership with Autograph and its treasured array of certified digital artifacts, is an important first milestone as we join the nascent NFT industry.”

“We want to herald in this new age by exposing thousands of more enthusiasts to this ever-evolving arena while also offering cherished material via an easy-to-use design that is designed to thrive. The “Pre-Season Access” series, which will feature NFTs of famous players from Autograph's pool of talent and collaborators while also offering followers an opportunity to acquire priority entry to subsequent launches, will be the first to launch on DraftKings Marketplace for USD acquisition.”

“The DraftKings Marketplace would also function as a secondary-sale system, allowing players to acquire, trade, and exchange digital items purchased from other members of the marketplace ecosystem”, said Matt Kalish.

Apart from the collaborations, DraftKings hopes to gain a competitive advantage in the market by streamlining the customer signup procedure by enabling customers to purchase NFTs without having to fill a wallet with cryptocurrency and rather pay in USD. Customers will be allowed to buy NFTs from DraftKings and resale or market them through the site once it debuts.

The NFT growth might provide a chance for DraftKings, which has garnered $720 million in investment since its inception in 2012, to move its audience base into the new sector. Amid much anticipation and investors' curiosity, few established technology firms have made notable inroads into the NFT realm.

"As the public grows more familiar with digital possession and collecting, we see an enormous potential to deliver consumers high-quality, customized material from their favorite sportsmen, musicians, and brands," said Dillon Rosenblatt, Autograph's Chairman, and CEO. “NFTs are the ideal platform for connecting people to both the items they enjoy and the people who share those values, and we'd like to take advantage of today's amazing collaborations to strive to bring quality to our society.”

Autograph's distinguished expert panel will assist in the creation of unique NFTs, which will be released specifically for Autograph late this summer via DraftKings market drops. While DraftKings Marketplace will be the only retailer of Autograph's sporting NFTs, the partnership might ultimately expand to other areas, such as music, lifestyle, and art. Autograph recently collaborated with Lionsgate to create NFT content based on well-known movies and TV shows.

These forward-looking declarations contain a range of expected and unexpected dangers, ambiguities, suppositions, as well as other significant considerations, some of which are beyond DraftKings' command, that could end up causing real results or outputs to vary significantly from those debated in their declarations. Unless legally required, DraftKings assumes no responsibility to review or modify any forward-looking remarks, either as a consequence of fresh facts, future developments, or otherwise.