The daily fantasy sports market will soon have its first women’s professional league after the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced its partnership with fantasy sports giant FanDuel.
Although it is a one-day fantasy partnership, pundits consider this a big leap forward in an industry that offers male-dominated games.
WNBA President Lisa Borders called the female basketball league’s partnership with FanDuel a “fresh, unique way for fans to further connect with their favorite WNBA players and teams throughout our season.”
“We are constantly looking to innovate by finding new opportunities to engage with our passionate fans and introduce the WNBA to wider audiences,” Borders said in a statement posted on the WNBA”s website.
For FanDuel, the WNBA will provide more options for players wanting to play more fantasy contests in the summer, when sport choices are light.
“The NBA has been a fantastic partner as we continue to build out our consumer offerings to appeal to all sports fans,” FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles said. “We first launched NBA contests in 2009, debuted NBA InPlay late last year, and are now extending our basketball offerings to include WNBA, giving our users even more opportunities to play fantasy contests.”
Basketball and DFS fans will be able to access the “Official One-Day Fantasy Game of the WNBA” and compete against others for daily WNBA prizes, including courtside tickets to regular season games, unique WNBA experiences, WNBA merchandise and memorabilia.
The official one-day fantasy game, available throughout the entire WNBA regular season and playoffs, will offer both paid and free WNBA contests via FanDuel.com, the FanDuel app and WNBA.com.
Aside from the fantasy game, players will also be able to access the “WNBA Tip-Off Challenge” between May 13 and 20. The WNBA Tip-Off Challenge will give players a chance to win WNBA Store credit, tickets to WNBA games, and a grand prize fan experience including courtside seats to the WNBA Finals with a basketball legend. To enter the WNBA Tip-Off Challenge, visit www.fanduel.com/wnba-tipoff.
