DraftKings announced a deal with the NFL’s International Series in the United Kingdom on Friday, the company’s second of the week with an NFL-affiliated entity.
The three-year relationship will provide DraftKings with promotional opportunities at the NFL games held at Wembley Stadium in London. The first of three games in the UK this season will be played Sunday as the New York Jets meet the Miami Dolphins.
“Our partnership with the NFL’s International Series provides the ideal platform in which to introduce fans to DraftKings in the UK as we expand beyond the United States,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said in a press release.
With DraftKings planning to launch in the UK by the end of 2015, the NFL games could present valuable opportunities for the company. DraftKings, which secured its UK gaming license in August, plans to offer pooled liquidity between the players in North America and abroad. Friday’s press release also reiterated Robins’ previously stated plan to take DraftKings into the rest of Europe and Asia soon.
For the NFL, the deal is a further link between the league and daily fantasy sports.
Officially, the league remains neutral on DFS and is the only one of the four major sports leagues in North America that is not partnered with either FanDuel or DraftKings. But the NFL’s daily fantasy abstinence is more technical than practical. Twenty-eight of the league’s 32 franchises have deals with daily fantasy operators, and DraftKings announced a partnership with the NFL Players Association earlier this week.