DraftKings goes live in Germany and Malta
Beta launch is part of an effort to increase the operator’s addressable audience by more than 100 million
DraftKings has expanded its European presence beyond the UK for the first time after launching its product in Germany and Malta.
The DFS firm said Thursday a beta version had been made live to all German and Malta consumers under a Malta Gaming Authority Skill Games licence.
The product itself will look very similar to the US and UK versions, with contests available on all major US sports and seven leagues of football as well as MMA, golf and eSports.
Liquidity will be shared across the global network.
“Germany is known for its passionate sports fans, and we are pleased to welcome them all to our platform,” said Jeffrey Haas, chief international officer for DraftKings, which recently opened an office in Malta.
“We give everyone the chance to be the best football manager in the world, at the pub, or on their couch at home. It’s the same fun manager games experience players know and love, but without the season-long commitment.”
DraftKings, which recently started calling its contests ‘manager games’, said the launch was part of a plan to increase its “addressable audience” in Europe by more than a hundred million.
Haas told EGR Intel other European markets had been targeted, but the firm would wait to see the results from Germany before expanding further.
“Germans show a proclivity for American sports, particularly the NFL and NBA,” Haas added. “Initial testing in Germany shows that our most popular sport has been the NBA, which is why we are opening our beta test to all German sports fans.”
In the public beta phase, DraftKings said it will be working to optimise the product over the next few months with a team dedicated to enhancing the German experience.