The NBA has signed a 4-year deal with the daily fantasy website, FanDuel, per a report from ESPN’s Darren Rovell.
NBA signs exclusive daily fantasy deal with FanDuel. DETAILS http://t.co/wYqqhTmQPP
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 12, 2014
The financial details of the deal were not immediately disclosed, but the NBA will become a partner with the market leader in one of the largest growing sports sectors.
“The special status helps legitimize us, but we wanted to do this deal because the NBA, more than any other league, they understood the upside to them as well,” FanDuel CEO and co-founder Nigel Eccles said.
Eccles noted that the company’s data shows that once a fan starts playing daily fantasy, his or her weekly sports TV consumption jumps from 17 1/2 hours to 24 hours.
“It’s clear that many of our fans are in the two-screen world, watching the game and having another device open to do something else,” said Sal LaRocca, president of the NBA’s global operations and merchandising, who will become a board member of FanDuel. “Daily Fantasy is now part of that experience.”
The market for daily fantasy sports has grown exponentially over the last few years. Fan Duel recently raised its net revenue prjections for 2014 to $60 million, that’s up from $14.5 million in 2013. Daily fantasy is considered legal thanks to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which, in 2006, clarified online gambling regulations. Participation in fantasy sports was exempted on the grounds that it was a game of skill.