SUPERLOBBY BLOG - NFL WEEK 8

Are we set for a new, regulated era in DFS?

In the headlines this week: movement on the regulation front, the expansion of our popular SuperLobby Lowdown, and the decimation of StarsDraft’s market share.

Earlier this week, the Daily Fantasy Sports industry took a step towards regulation with the unveiling of the Fantasy Sports Control Agency. DraftKings and FanDuel have already expressed their commitment to the FSCA - although the Wall Street Journal has reported that FanDuel’s CEO has also called for government regulation. At SuperLobby, we are supportive of regulation. Transparency and consistency across operators will benefit everyone - most of all, the players.

It may also prove a smart move in terms of public relations. Establishing an industry-wide set of best practices and boundaries will at least remove some of the concern that, justifiably or not, has been expressed in the mainstream media.

The decision to appoint former Obama administration official Seth Harris as the FSCA’s chair should alleviate doubts as to impartiality, although questions will linger as to whether or not this undoubted step in the right direction precludes the need for formal external regulation. Nobody can say with any certainty right now. What we can say is that the whole picture should be a lot clearer with everybody on the same page.

The SuperLobby Lowdown doubles down

On Friday November 6, we release the SuperLobby Lowdown NFL Mid-Season Report. Those of our readers who subscribe to the weekly SuperLobby Lowdown will be familiar with the idea. We track NFL entry numbers and prizepools, and offer insight into the data. It has proven massively successful, and the SuperLobby Lowdown has been cited by ESPN, The Economist, Fortune, Bloomberg, and many others. The Mid-Season Report collates all of the NFL data that we have gathered so far this season, and allows our readers to see for themselves what the ups and downs in DFS really mean to user numbers.

We are also delighted to announce the arrival of the SuperLobby NBA Lowdown. Released every Wednesday morning, the Lowdown covers the previous week’s NBA action and provides unrivalled data and insight into the NBA DFS landscape.

These reports are unmissable - simply email Lowdown@SuperLobby.com to request your copies.

Fan Duel leading as StarsDraft gets wiped out

The battle for DFS supremacy between FanDuel and DraftKings is one that never lets up. In recent weeks, we have reported that DraftKings has had the edge when it comes to Sunday NFL GPP user numbers. Nevertheless, we do believe that FanDuel is sitting in pole position when it comes to the whole NFL marketplace - GPPs plus Cash Games.

Last Sunday (Oct 25), FanDuel took in $31.6m in NFL GPP + Cash Game entry fees. We have yet to perfect our Cash Game data collection method for DraftKings, so for the time being we will only report its GPP total ($22.7m last Sunday).

Last week in the SuperLobby blog, we noted that StarsDraft’s decision to voluntarily withdraw from 46 states may have had something to do with a bigger objective of returning to dominate the US poker market. Of course, this was nothing more than an unprovable, unknowable musing. However, it is pretty clear that if StarsDraft has designs on disrupting the DFS world, then it has chosen to take the scenic route to the top. GPP entry figures dropped by 25,000 to just 743, which is probably not the trajectory that a potential market leader aims for. We have repeatedly discussed the fact that we have high hopes for StarsDraft, and we are thoroughly intrigued as to where it goes from here.

Brand new Fantasy Premier League Podcast - with Hesh Hambazaza (Rotogrinders, DK Playbook)

This week’s podcast guest is Rotogrinders and DraftKings Playbook writer Hesh Hambazaza. Hesh is a well-regarded DFS soccer authority, and he can certainly teach hosts Christy and David a thing or two about selection strategy.

Hesh goes into detail on his selection strategy, who he anticipates to be his star of the week, and why he’s stacking his side full of Man City players.