BOSTON, July 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DraftKings Inc. (Nasdaq: DKNG) today announced that it has received a DFS license from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and its daily fantasy sports product will soon be live in approved parishes in Louisiana. With this launch, Louisiana will officially become the 44^th state in the United States to offer DraftKings daily fantasy sports, which today spans dozens of sports from NFL, MLB and NBA to Australian Football and various eSports. Home to three major professional sports franchises as well as multiple D-I collegiate programs, Louisiana fans will now have ample opportunities to compete across their favorite sports through DraftKings’ signature second-screen experience.

“As DraftKings continues our nationwide expansion, we welcome Louisiana to the DraftKings family, an area rich with culture, heritage, and die-hard fanbases in both professional and college sports,” said Matt Kalish, co-founder and president of DraftKings North America. “The Bayou will now have access to our world-leading Daily Fantasy Sports product as we ramp up toward the kickoff of football season.”

To celebrate DraftKings’ launch in Louisiana, new customers who place a minimum $5 first deposit will receive a free credit to play in a $3 paid contest of their choice. Along with the traditional offerings, DraftKings customers in Louisiana will have the opportunity to participate in charity-driven contests that benefit organizations making a difference. One such daily fantasy sports contest will raise funds to plant one million trees by Earth Day 2022 in collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation.

For individuals located in approved parishes the company has introduced multiple innovations to optimize the customer experience for all skill levels, including:

• Establishing the Fair Play Commitment Initiative to ensure a level playing field by prohibiting top-earning or more experienced players from entering casual and beginner contests.
• DraftKings Leagues – The first ever platform where players can create fully-customizable, private contests just for their friends or colleagues.
• Launching new and enhancing favorite game variants:
  • Showdown contests require players to draft a team from a single game, round or match all while staying under the designated salary cap. Showdown is particularly popular among fans for marquee events like the Super Bowl and World Series who tune in around the globe to watch the action unfold. For NFL and NBA contests, DraftKings also enables In-Game Showdown so fans can construct lineups for a portion of the game after it has begun.
  • Classic contests require participants to draft a team across multiple games by selecting players by position listed in the available Player Pool while remaining under the designated salary cap. Classic is a popular option for fans during regular season games.
    

A leader in digital sports entertainment and gaming, DraftKings is committed to creating inclusive and responsible pathways for people to build, create, imagine, and innovate through the DraftKings S.E.R.V.E.S. program. Responsible gaming is a key pillar of the S.E.R.V.E.S. program and DraftKings’ collective mission is to mitigate harm and protect the vulnerable with groundbreaking technology, training, resources and the support of evidence-based research.

Sports fans in Louisiana can get skin in the game today by either heading to www.draftkings.com or downloading the DraftKings app via iOS or Android.

About DraftKings
DraftKings Inc. is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company created to fuel the competitive spirit of sports fans with products that range across daily fantasy, regulated gaming and digital media. Headquartered in Boston, and launched in 2012 by Jason Robins, Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman, DraftKings is the only U.S.-based vertically integrated sports betting operator. DraftKings is a multi-channel provider of sports betting and gaming technologies, powering sports and gaming entertainment for 50+ operators in 17 countries. DraftKings’ Sportsbook is live with mobile and/or retail betting operations in the United States pursuant to regulations in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. DraftKings’ daily fantasy sports product is available in 7 countries internationally with 15 distinct sports categories. DraftKings is the official daily fantasy partner of the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, PGA TOUR and UFC as well as an authorized gaming operator of the NBA and MLB, an official betting operator of the PGA TOUR and the official betting operator of UFC. DraftKings also owns Vegas Sports Information Network, Inc. (VSiN), a multi-platform broadcast and content company.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this release are “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside DraftKings’ control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see DraftKings’ Securities and Exchange Commission filings. DraftKings does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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