DraftKings Acquires DraftStreet
Today we’ve witnessed one of the most historic days in the history of Daily Fantasy Sports. Hours ago CEO Jason Robins (pictured right) officially announced the acquisition of DraftStreet by DraftKings in the RotoGrinders Forums.
“Today, we are excited to announce that DraftKings has acquired DraftStreet, bringing together the two best products in daily fantasy. For the past several days, we have watched as many speculated, not just about whether the rumors were true but also about the reasons why. Let me be clear on one point – the one and only reason why DraftKings and DraftStreet are teaming up is that we believe we are a better company combined than separate.”
This comes fresh off the announcement of a DraftKings partnership with the WSOP, and demonstrates DraftKings continued drive to thrive in the Daily Fantasy industry. You can read the full DraftKings Acquisition of DraftStreet post in the RotoGrinders Forums.
The transformation process will happen quickly. A landing page is now live on DraftStreet.com that walks users through the steps of transferring their account over to DraftKings. All funds are 100% secure. Here is a video from the CEO’s of both companies:
Click To Watch Video
Many of the questions have been about user funds. DraftKings will be offering any new DK players a 100% deposit bonus on transferred funds, and we will also be offering that bonus again when you make a first deposit on DK. Players already playing on DK will be offered a 25% bonus on transferred funds if they have a DraftStreet account. If they don’t have a DraftStreet account, the user can still access make the 25% bonus available to themselves whenever they make their next deposit. If you are a DraftStreet or DraftKings user with any questions, DraftKings urges you to direct your questions to their Support Email.
Cameron of RotoGrinders recently spoke with DraftStreeet Co-Founder Mark “Markness” Nerenberg (pictured right) about the acquisition. Mark told us:
“It’s been an emotional past few weeks. It’s hard to let go of DraftStreet after everything we’ve all been through. The memories will last forever. That being said, working with the DraftKings team the past week or two has been encouraging. They have been pulling away in terms of overall product, but we feel it’s a perfect fit where their strengths are our weaknesses and vice versa. We’re very excited to see what we can do together.”
You can also read a statement by Mark on the Official DraftKings Acquiring DraftStreet Announcement post.
The other types of questions pouring in tend to revolve around Frequent Player Points valuation and transfer. Mark posted on RotoGrinders that “Street Creds will be converted to FPP’s at the best possible rate to customers, and we’ve applied the Street Cred reward to each customer, pro-rated for half a month.” – As for any taxation confusion, players will receive both a 1099 from DraftStreet (Skyllzone) and from DraftKings. A full FAQ was created on DraftKings’ website that answers many other user questions surrounding the merger.
While some players seem sad to see the DraftStreet brand go, others are just thankful for their time on the site. Ryan “BirdWings” Lynde personally posted that he’d “like to thank Mark and DraftStreet for everything they’ve done for the industry and having the sharpest and most dynamic game around. I haven’t had much of a bad word to say about DS in the three years I’ve played there. It’s truly been a pleasure doing business with them daily.”
The exact day-to-day logistics of DraftKings acquiring DraftStreet are still unclear, but we’re being told that the entire DraftStreet team will remain intact and will be working with the DraftKings team in the coming months. The aim is that the two teams can combine to produce the best possible Daily Fantasy Experience. DraftStreet’s current office will remain in New York City, while DraftKings is headquartered in Boston.