ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (AP): In the “players will bet on absolutely anything” category, you have a new one: a major sports book betting on drone air racing.
DraftKings said Friday that it is betting on this weekend’s Drone Racing League championship, in which pilots fly aerial drones in races.
Betting on league drone racing is legal in Colorado, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee and West Virginia, with pending regulatory approvals in additional states.
“Now the sky is the limit for DRL fans to get their skin in the game and we are thrilled to partner with DraftKings to transform our high-speed racing competition into the ultimate sport to bet on,” said the president of the Drones Racing League, Rachel Jacobson. . “The opportunity to elevate our commitment through all forms of gambling and betting will only increase as mobile betting is adopted across the country.”
The sports book and league host “pre-flight shows” on Friday night on Twitter ahead of the live events, in which expert sports bettors and top drone pilots will inform fans on how to participate.
Championship events begin Saturday.
Jacobson said all of his races are virtual this year, taking place in a simulation that incorporates real-life drone physics. But it also hosts live drone races at venues that have included Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida; Alexandra Palace in London and a car museum in Munich.
DraftKings says there is a market for this. Last year it offered free competitions in drone racing to assess interest in the activity and the response was 30% higher than usual for a new sport introduced on the betting platform. So far there have been over 150,000 entries to these free contests.
As is the case with the most important sports, including football, baseball and basketball, players will be able to bet before and during the races.
DraftKings said consumer research has shown that drone racing fans are three times more likely to place a bet than fans in major sports leagues and have 90% more interest in sports betting in general than average sports fans.
The Drone League is a New York-based private company founded in 2015. It has held events in six countries.
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Follow Wayne Parry a http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC.