New Jersey sports bettors will now be able turn on their TV to place sports bets (*pending imminent DISH Network gaming approval) following the news last week that DraftKings and DISH Network will bring sports betting to DISH’s portfolio of brands in the Garden State and beyond. The Dish Network and DraftKings will allow for subscribers to Dish’s Hopper service place bets on NBA, NHL, and college basketball games right from their remotes in jurisdictions like New Jersey where that is legal. How the DISH – DraftKings technology will work DISH TV customers in possession of an internet-connected Hopper family receiver can use the DraftKings app to view betting odds and fantasy contests. They will be able to place their wagers or DFS contest entries with DraftKings directly from their TV, then set recordings or watch the live sports that will correspond with their placed wagers or fantasy teams. Once a fantasy contest entry or sports bet is initiated, customers will be prompted via DraftKings text message to complete their transaction with the DraftKings app on any mobile device, including TV. All that subscriber need do to access the service to is download the DraftKings app on their SMART TV device. The agreement also permits DraftKings to be available on the DISH Network’s SLING TV and Boost Mobile in the future. “The integration with DraftKings is an exciting enhancement for our customers and a great addition to the growing DISH TV Hopper platform — a one-stop entertainment hub,” Brian Neylon, Group President for DISH TV, announced in the official media release for the deal with DraftKings. “We’re thrilled to work with DraftKings to amplify the sports-fan experience, and extend the DraftKings footprint across our unique suite of services, including SLING TV and Boost Mobile, with potential applications across our 5G wireless buildout in the future” he said. Customers will be able to access and use the DraftKings app while watching any on-demand, recorded or live DISH TV content. The DraftKings app is to be accessed via the DISH Voice Remote, simply by saying “Launch DraftKings” or manually from the Apps Menu. DraftKings Co-founder and President of Product and Technology, Paul Libermann put forward his thoughts of the DISH TV agreement following launch: “Our deal with DISH TV and the technology behind it immerses customers within a next-generation viewership experience and reaches these fanbases in a completely new way. This is a unique opportunity for fans to watch games and engage with our real-money products while the technology also allows for further innovation ahead” Liebermann wrote in a release. DISH TV’s competitor – Fubo TV – to also launch Sports betting Integration Shares in DraftKings were up on the announcement of the DISH TV deal. What’s more shares in one of DISH’s direct competitors, the Fubo TV Network were also directly affected, suffering a 17% fall on the deal’s announcement, however that’s off the back of more than 300% in stock increases over the last few months. Chief Executive Officer of Fubo TV, David Gandler has said that his company is also planning to launch its own sports betting service integration in the coming months, most likely during the fiscal fourth quarter of the year; “We have a unique opportunity to combine a video product that has over 50,000 sporting events on it with a wagering product that we believe could create a nice flywheel and that can improve engagement and retention,” Gandler said. Fubo TV is just one of several TV network competitors in regional and city markets aiming to secure market share in the widening net of the sports betting industry, which could potentially welcome another 10 to 15 legal states in 2021.
