Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: DraftKings, Free To Play, Wrestlemania, wrestling, wwe

DraftKings Becomes The Official Gaming Partner Of The WWE

As online sports betting becomes more and more prominent across the country, DraftKings has arguably become the name most synonymous with gamblers trying to strike it rich off of sporting events.  And now today, we learn that WWE wants in on what DraftKings offers to the world of online gaming.  In an exclusive from Randall Williams at Sportico, DraftKings has signed a deal with WWE to become the wrestling megacompany's official gaming partner, just a couple of weeks ahead of WWE's biggest event of the year, Wrestlemania on April 10 and 11.

WWE released a statement from WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon that says:

"We're excited to enter this new agreement that makes DraftKings WWE's first-ever free to play gaming partner.

"This collaboration marks a significant step in deepening engagement with our passionate fans and will provide DraftKings the opportunity to leverage the massive appeal and reach of the WWE brand."

This deal will no doubt end up being lucrative for both DraftKings and WWE, as WWE fans will spend money on literally anything the company tells them to, but it's also something of a head-scratcher for a couple of reasons.  DraftKings is primarily a sports betting company, allowing fans to bet online on outcomes of games or performances of specific athletes.  WWE is "sports entertainment", where despite the wrestlers unquestionably being athletes themselves, the product is scripted with predetermined outcomes.  What makes things even more questionable, is WWE's reluctance over the past several decades to associate themselves as a sport or sporting event of any kind and instead leaning more into the entertainment half of sports entertainment.

While the terms of the deal were not made available, it is explicitly stated that it does not include betting and instead focuses on "DraftKings' free-to-play pools product and will be available for fans to play at WrestleMania".

So this leaves us with a few questions and I assume if DraftKings is rolling this out at Wrestlemania in a couple of weeks, we'll be hearing the details on these games they will be offering before too long.  And while they state betting is not a part of this deal, let's be real here, that's what DraftKings is known for.  And while most wrestling fans know it's a scripted entertainment show, there's a depressing amount that still believes in what they're watching and would absolutely put up money for bets.  So let's not write that off as something that will never happen at some point.

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