Plenty of brand exposure

DraftKings is now the official exclusive daily fantasy sports (DFS) partner of the Boston Red Sox. The Boston-based DFS operator announced the deal with the MLB team via Twitter on Wednesday:

As part of the agreement, DraftKings will be engaging in various content integrations, as well as getting brand exposure across the team’s historic home field, Fenway Park. This will be in addition to the DraftKings branding that is already present above the Green Monster area of the home field.

New areas of brand exposure will include having home plate field-level signage, in addition to LED branding along the first and third baselines for a single inning during each home game in the regular season.

Boosting fan engagement

Also through the agreed partnership, DraftKings will benefit from promotional opportunities as the official daily fantasy partner of the Red Sox through various digital channels. The operator will be the title sponsor of the 50-50 raffles during every home game and have branding on the likes of raffle tickets.

DraftKings chief business officer Ezra Kucharz spoke about how thrilled the operator is after signing a deal with the iconic hometown team. He said: “As a Boston-born company, we are well-acquainted with the devotion of Boston sports fans, and we believe the engagement possibilities of this integration are only just beginning.”

The Red Sox executive vice president of partnerships, Troup Parkinson, touched on the relationship the franchise has had with the DFS operator since 2015. He spoke about how the organization looks forward to deepening the relationship in the years ahead and helping to boost fan engagement in the sport.

Gambling expansion in Massachusetts

DraftKings already has deals in place with other major professional sports teams in the region, including the Boston Celtics and the New England Patriots. While DFS has been legal in Massachusetts since 2016, sports betting is still not allowable. The Red Sox and the Boston Celtics have been among the proponents of sports betting legalization in the state for some time.

Sports betting legislation is making process in Massachusetts after the House of Representatives comprehensively passed H.3977 last week. The bill proposes a 12.5% tax rate on retail sportsbooks and 15% for online sportsbooks. Each of the three casinos in the state would get three online sports betting skins, while off-track betting locations and horse racetracks would each get a skin under this legislation.