DraftKings' $21.8M Spending Spree Last Week Leads To 1 Million New Users

DraftKings, which last week was the No. 1 advertiser on TV, spending $21.8M on roughly 5,800 ads in the seven days ending Sept. 10, yesterday said that the "furious outlay of cash in September resulted in them signing up more than 1 million new fantasy sport players," according to Claire Atkinson of the N.Y. POST. DraftKings "outspent the No. 2 advertiser, Warner Bros., by nearly" 4%, according to iSpot.tv. At this "frenzied spending rate, each customer is costing DraftKings more than $21.80 just to sign up." Meanwhile, FanDuel said that its ad spend stretched to $11.8M over the same seven-day period, "resulting in 2,600 commercials" (N.Y. POST, 9/16). In Chicago, Eric Zorn notes last weekend included a "pitiless onslaught of football-game commercials for daily fantasy sports betting sites." Viewers of both college football and NFL games "were hit with come-ons for DraftKings and FanDuel" at "nearly every break in the action" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/16).

DON'T BET ON IT: In Boston, Curt Woodward noted the hearing request made by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) to differentiate between fantasy sports and gambling "is no guarantee that Congress would examine the issue, but it does bring a new level of intensity to the legal questions around daily fantasy sports." DraftKings and FanDuel "did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Pallone’s letter, but both companies and their investors have repeatedly insisted that they take pains to ensure their games adhere to all proper laws." New Jersey voters "agreed to legalize sports betting in their state last year, but the law was overturned after the NCAA and major professional sports leagues filed a lawsuit." Pallone has been a "vocal opponent of that court ruling" (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 9/15).