DraftKings, NFL Expand To Canada Ahead Of Super Bowl LV For DFS

DraftKings Inc and the National Football League (NFL) have agreed to expand their current daily fantasy sports (DFS) and content partnership to Canada. 

The deal comes just in time for the Super Bowl 55, with DraftKings and the NFL hoping to capitalize on the big sporting event which is sure to witness a major boom in activity in the new market. Until now, the marketing and content deal between DraftKings and the NFL was limited to the United States.

In a statement, DaftKings said the announcement of an expanded deal further deepens the relationship between the two organizations and enhances the DFS fan experience in Canada as the NFL season approaches the Super Bowl. Furthermore, DraftKings said the expanded deal would give Canadian sports fans a unique and enhanced experience.

Popular DFS comes to Canada

“The relationship we share with the NFL is important for DraftKings to provide customers a great experience. This expanded agreement gives us a unique opportunity in the Canadian market, and we look forward to working with the team at the NFL Canada as we continue to shape the modern fan experience,” said Ezra Kucharz, Chief Business Officer at DraftKings.

With the expanded deal, sports bettors in Canada will have access to the full DFS products and players will have a chance  to play and win big during Super Bowl Sunday. DFS is extremely popular, particularly towards the Super Bowl, one of the biggest sporting events of the year.

“The popularity of Daily Fantasy in Canada continues to rise, providing a great point of connectivity for our fans to engage with the NFL. As the Official Daily Fantasy Partner of the NFL in Canada, this partnership with DraftKings will enhance the Canadian fan’s experience with unique and innovative gaming experiences,” said NFL Canada Director of Corporate Partnerships Gavin Kemp.

In September 2019, the NFL and DraftKings entered into a distinctive partnership that established DraftKings as the exclusive sponsor of the daily fantasy sports DFS category, as well as provided the company access to NFL branding and opportunities to collaborate on product and content offerings across the DraftKings app and NFL Media properties.

DraftKings Inc. is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company created to drive the competitive spirit of sports fans with products that range across daily fantasy, regulated gaming and digital media.

DraftKings has experienced phenomenal growth over the past few years. 

The Toronto Sun reported that DraftKings had made a fairly seamless transition into an online sportsbook a few years ago when the legal landscape in the United States changed. A few years ago, DraftKings was operating only in New Jersey for Super Bowl XLVIII. Last year, they were in five states. This year, 12. Dozens more states are considering some form of legalized gambling.

Canada’s online gaming revolution

DraftKings and the NFL’s expanded deal comes at a time when gaming is going through some kind of a revolution in Canada. 

The Canadian federal government is looking at legalizing single-event sports gaming. Two laws are before the House of Commons -- Bill C-13 and Bill 218 -- which literally want to do the same thing; that is to legalize single-event sports betting.

Bill C-13 is being sponsored by the government, whereas the latter is a private member’s bill.

On the other hand, the Ontario government is working on ending its monopoly on online gaming and to allow private players into the iGaming space. 

Ontario would be equal to the fifth-largest state in the U.S. with 15 million citizens. Toronto-based TheScore estimated a market potential in Ontario of $1.5 to $2.1 billion in annual gross gaming revenue.

Once Ontario ends the government monopoly on online gaming, other provinces are almost certain to follow suit, putting Canada on the verge of massive take-off in terms of legalized online gambling.