Draftkings linked NFTS with betting products in Web3 Push

Draftkings linked NFTS with betting products in Web3 Push

Draftkings brings its first internally developed NFT collection to the market, has learned Blockworks because the company assumes that sport will be a mainstream driver for the introduction of blockchain.

The sports betting company based in Boston starts the NFT series in time for the College Basketball tournament of the NCAA, which starts on Tuesday and runs until April 4.

"Only a few times in the sports calendar can keep up with the drama and spectacle of the college basketball tournament in March, which is why we selected this one-month event to initiate this new program for digital collectors," said Matt Kish, co-founder of Draftkings.

The 2022 College Hoops-Kollection is the first within a planned prime time NFT series Sports events will take place. Beth Beiriger, Senior Vice President of Marketplace Operations from Draftkings, said Blockworks that the company could bring future NFT collections on the market alongside the NBA Playoffs and the Super Bowl.

The start takes place after Draftkings presented its marketplace for digital collectibles last August, which offers curated NFT drops and supports secondary market transactions. At that time it announced that it would be the exclusive distributor of sports-related NFT content from the NFT platform Autographer.

Beiriger said that the new NFT series was the first time that the company connects digital collectors with its legacy products. The NFT owners of College Hoops Collection 2022 are entitled to obtain credit on the Draftkings website, to place bets and to take part in pools, brackets and competitions in his sports betting and daily fantasy offerings.

collectors who own all eight NFTs in the collection receive a ninth NFT after the NCAA championship game, which granted them early access to the next drop of the prime time NFT series.

"We see sports as a mainstream driver for the introduction of blockchain, and digital collectors are an important part of this early onboarding process," said Beiriger to Blockworks.

"Between cashless concessions in stadiums, online ticketing and much more, consumers have already been conditioned on the progressive digitization of sport, since NFTS further push this trend," he added.

The company also pays attention to the blockchain gaming area, as Play-to-Eearn models gain dynamics, added it.

The company expects to release an NFT-based fantasy game before the next NFL season. An agreement with the NFL Players Association grants Draftking's license rights for the active players of the league.

polygon partnership

Draftkings also announced last week that it was received by the Zero Hash infrastructure platform to use digital assets that it keeps in its treasury to support the polygon (Matic) blockchain network. The message builds on the company on Open partnership with Vigoreck.

"As a validator, Draftkings becomes an even more active participant in the polygon ecosystem and plays a crucial role in ensuring the integrity of the blockchain and securing the network," says Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of polygon.

drafting web3 talent

In the middle of the crypto initiatives and plans, the company tries to get talents on board in this area, as can be seen from job advertisements.

Draftkings is looking for a senior web3 engineer for his NFT marketplace, which will help the company "build and expand our blockchain infrastructure in order to ensure the scalability and availability of the entire platform," says the website.

The company also looks for a fraud specialist who works on investigations in connection with cryptocurrency, blockchain and the NFT marketplace and ensures compliance with the regulations to combat money laundering.

Although the company has taken steps to take blockchain, crypto and NFT experts directly on board, for example by taking on Scarcity Labs last year, it searches all industries for employees who can help draftkings grow.

"The crypto room is still understood and grows quickly that we do not want to miss first-class talents by focusing exclusively on crypto native," said Beiriger.

"As we want to get customers on board through mainstream accessibility, we want to attract a diverse talent pool with a number of local professional backgrounds or transferable skills."

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The contribution Draftking's left NFTS to Betting Products in Web3 Push is not a financial advice.