Poll: Can DFS products be successful in Europe?

Daily fantasy is continuing to expand beyond its North American heartland, with Unibet revealing this morning it is launching its own DFS product.

The Kindred Group-owned brand is the first European heavyweight to enter the market, but does it mean others will follow?

Kindred Group’s sportsbook business development manager, Mattias Aminoff, told EGR Intel DFS would complement its existing sportsbook and appeal to a wider segment of sports fans.

“Fantasy sports is a great way for everyone with as little as an ounce of sports interest to get really engaged with the sports – so even if there is still uncertainty whether it is going to work in Europe, we find it to be a product that will fit in nicely into our product portfolio,” he said.

The launch follows news last week that US giant DraftKings is targeting Germany and other European countries with its new Malta licence, while other US market leaders FanDuel and Yahoo also have UK-gambling licences.

The activity would suggest bookmakers see potential in the European market in terms of customer engagement, acquisition and cross-sell while the presence of the DFS operators suggest there is money to be made from DFS in its own right.

But there are still major questions to be answered about the future of the European market. Firstly, will customers choose the more stats-heavy, work-intensive process of picking a DFS team rather than simply placing a bet or an accumulator.

Secondly, can the DFS model prove to be profitable in the long run without large marketing budgets?

DraftKings and FanDuel seemingly had little option but to merge in the US, largely thanks to financial struggles, despite accounting for 90% of the market, while one of the largest second-tier operators, FantasyAces, went bankrupt last week.

And those struggles are without competition from regulated sports betting.

With that in mind, do you think DFS products can be successful in Europe?