Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks battles for the ball with Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx during Game Four of the 2017 WNBA Finals. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The Wings and the Mercury will tip off the 2018 WNBA season tonight in the same week that the U.S. Supreme Court moved to legalize sports gambling. And what happens with the WNBA might indicate what a deeper integration of sports and betting might look like in America.
On Thursday, the WNBA and FanDuel extended their existing partnership for another two seasons. That becomes especially important when considering that Irish bookmaker Paddy Power is closing in on a deal to buy the American fantasy sports company.
In 2017, the first year that the league signed with the FanDuel, the gaming site counted more than 2.2 million entries in one-day fantasy contests. “They were a terrific partner in the inaugural year last year,” WNBA President Lisa Borders told The Associated Press on Thursday. “WNBA games on FanDuel were extraordinary by every measure.”
To launch the WNBA season, FanDuel is offering eight free contests that will span the opening weekend. Players who win one of those will get a chance to play in another contest, the Tip-Off Championship, with $4,000 in prizes and a VIP trip for two to Las Vegas up for grabs.
Now, as well as being the exclusive fantasy partner for one-day contests, FanDuel will also have the rights to stream a select number of live WNBA games. “The opportunity to stream on their platform is a new one,” Borders said. “They are building out the capabilities as we speak. We’d be one of the first, if not the first to stream live on the FanDuel platform.”
If Paddy Power takes over, those capabilities could potentially stretch further than fantasy contests and streaming after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, making the WNBA a blueprint for legalized betting.
SportTechie Takeaway
No one really knows what legalized betting might look like in the U.S., but major foreign bookmakers like Paddy Power are certain to play a role, and to want to buy into the action. The WNBA’s renewed deal with FanDuel was likely already in progress before the Supreme Court’s decision, but will be watched closely for signs of the future of sports gambling.
For more on the what the WNBA has in store for the 2018 season, listen to Borders‘ recent interview on the SportTechie Podcast with Bram Weinstein.
