Last updated: November 29, 2023
DraftKings, listed as NASDAQ: DKNG, has submitted a trademark application for ‘DraftKings Cashpicks,’ signalling its intent to enter the competitive fantasy sports arena, potentially taking on Prize Picks and Underdog Sports in the future.
The gaming company may be preparing to introduce DraftKings Cashpicks at some point in the future, according to a recent filing with the USPTO. The regulatory document provides few details, but it refers to the game as fantasy sports.
Mobile applications for managing and taking part in fantasy sports competitions, specifically those that can be downloaded, are described in the USPTO filing. Entertainment services in the form of fantasy sports competitions, distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media, provided via downloadable mobile software applications, via a website. Sports betting-related entertainment services.
Although not all patent and trademark filings result in the introduction of new goods and services, the filing for DraftKings Cashpicks may indicate that the operator is preparing for state approval of the daily fantasy sports (DFS) competitions offered by PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy, which DraftKings and FanDuel are rumored to be deliberately disparaging in the public eye.
The argument that contests are more closely related to sports betting than traditional DFS and are being permitted in some states that haven’t approved sports wagering is the source of rumored opposition to the games provided by PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy.
This is significant because states where Underdog and some of its similar rivals do business are highly sought-after by the sports betting industry. At the moment, Underdog provides fantasy pick ’em games in 39 states and fantasy games in 41 states. As a few examples, Underdog operates in states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, and California, none of which have vibrant sports betting industries. Only Florida, one of the four states, allows that activity, which is governed there by the Seminole Tribe.
While neither PrizePicks nor Underdog Fantasy currently offer sportsbooks, it is believed that eventually they will follow the example set by DraftKings and FanDuel and turn DFS players into sports bettors.
FanDuel and DraftKings have successfully implemented this model, and they now control the US market for legalized sports betting as a duopoly.
Although DraftKings and FanDuel are the DFS industry’s forerunners, many of their initially devoted but smaller customers eventually lost patience with those platforms’ dominance by “sharks” who were relying on DFS for a living.
That made it possible for newcomers like PrizePicks and Underdog Fantasy to create novel offerings and draw customers away from established competitors.
DraftKings Cashpicks, in particular in states that do not permit sports betting, may be a way to attract smaller DFS players. Of course, DraftKings is probably aware of that customer attrition. It might also be a rivalry between PrizePicks and Underdog, or it might never happen.
Will is a former Grosvenor croupier who relocated to Chicago from London in 2013. Not only is he a highly skilled poker player, but he is also an expert in the art of deception, gambling cons, and the world of crypto. Now he uses his knowledge and experience to write and edit detailed reviews of online casinos in a bid to help players avoid online scams and losing their money to rogue gambling sites.
