The quest of daily fantasy gaming companies to market themselves on the biggest stages continues, as DraftKings will announce Friday that it has bought the presenting title sponsorship to the Belmont Stakes.
Terms of the deal with the New York Racing Association (NYRA), which controls the marketing rights to the third leg of the Triple Crown, were not disclosed.
The comprehensive package includes everything from the DraftKings logo on the starting gate to its logo on the cooling blankets of the winning horses throughout the day to commercial exclusivity in the daily fantasy category on the June 6 broadcast on NBC.
Aside from a marketing opportunity to show its branding to the rest of the world, the marketing deal was done to give away access to a winner in one of DraftKings' upcoming daily fantasy leagues.
"All of our deals, whether it's with Major League Baseball, the NHL or this one involve an experiential component," said DraftKings co-founder and chief revenue officer Matt Kalish. "We want to give winners of our games something that money can't buy."
The winner of an upcoming league will win the right to bring three of his or her friends to the sold-out VIP hospitality area at Belmont Park and have winner's circle access. That could become even more valuable if American Pharoah becomes the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown.
DraftKings' competitor, FanDuel, recently had its logo on Floyd Mayweather's shorts for his fight with Manny Pacquiao.
DraftKings says it will award more than $1 billion in prizes this year and pull in more than $100 million in revenue. That's up from $304 million in prizes last year and $30 million in company revenue.