Draftkings Sports Betting National Championship

admin  4/12/2022
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The DraftKings Sportsbook is now live in New Jersey. Visit the DraftKings Sportsbook mobile app here for full details.

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Daily fantasy sports and sports betting titan DraftKings is offering players throughout the US the chance at $1,000,000 in January 2019. The DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship will bring several lucky contestants to New Jersey to hash out a three-day sports betting frenzy.

How the DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship works

DraftKings held its first ever Sports Betting National Championship in. DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship The 2020 national sports betting championship is also not yet finalized, although we expect a similar format like the spring and fall championships. However, the national tourney will have a bigger guaranteed prize pool and winner’s share on the line ($1 million).

  1. DraftKings has ended a class-action lawsuit by agreeing to pay a $102,000 settlement. The lawsuit was filed by bettor Christopher Leong over DraftKing’s handling of the 2019 Sports Betting National Championship on behalf of around 200 contestants in the tournament.
  2. The DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship (SBNC) was an ambitious, innovative attempt to disrupt the sports betting status quo. After a controversial finish, though, the first DraftKings Sportsbook live event will likely be remembered as another misstep for the nascent US industry.
  3. DraftKings will be hosting its inaugural Sports Betting National Championship in January and invitations are open to all whether you live in New Jersey or elsewhere. The $2.5 million competition takes place January 11th-13 th in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Players who win entry to the championship will receive $5,000 in their sports betting accounts to use during the weekend. The players will compete with each other on a special leaderboard made for that weekend.

The players with the largest bankrolls at the end of the weekend will receive cash prizes. The prize schedule is as follows:

  • 1st place – $1,000,000
  • 2nd place – $350,000
  • 3rd place – $250,000
  • 4th place – $175,000
  • 5th place – $100,000
  • 6th – 7th place – $75,000
  • 8th – 10th place – $50,000
  • 11th – 15th place – $25,000
  • 16th – 25th place – $15,000

The championship will pay out at least $2,500,000 in prize money. The contest will occur from Jan. 11 through Jan. 13, which coincides with the NFL Divisional Playoff round.

In order to gain entry, players can either play their way in through special DFS contests onsite or buy directly into the championship. DFS players could potentially get a ticket for as little as $0.10, although a direct buy-in costs $10,000.

Draftkings Sports Betting National Championship

Players must wager at least $1,000 on Friday and Saturday, and at least $2,000 on Sunday. Wagering on Sunday also needs to occur on the NFL games in order to maintain eligibility for the leaderboard prizes. However, players who do not meet the requirements will get to keep the remainder of their bankrolls.

The qualifier structure may draw the wrong attention

There’s no denying that a chance at a $1 million payday is enticing. However, the manner that players use to get to the championship may create some unnecessary legal concerns in the process.

Sports Betting Draftkings

One of the selling points about daily fantasy sports has long been that it is definitively not gambling. There have even been academic studies that tend to support the idea of DFS as a game of skill.

Draftkings Betting Odds

Sports betting, on the other hand, is definitively gambling. Even with the application of proper skill, losses can and will occur.

With this contest, players are now going to use DFS to enter a sports betting contest. The conflation of the two concepts is precisely what the industry doesn’t need right now.

If the Congressional hearing two weeks ago proved anything, it’s that sports betting still garners a healthy dose of suspicion from both lobbyists and lawmakers. DFS, on the other hand, has mostly slipped by state and federal governments’ collective attention.

In fact, at present, only nine states disallow daily fantasy sports. DFS operates freely in most parts of the country, including in places where resistance to other gambling is quite strong.

The worst thing for the industry to do would be to flaunt itself and make lawmakers feel like saps. In many cases, it would not be difficult for legislators to pass a new law or reinterpret an existing one.

For one weekend, Jersey City might be considered the hub of the sports betting in the U.S. The inaugural DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship (SBNC) kicked off Friday in the Garden State, drawing hundreds of sports bettors to a first-of-its-kind contest that boasts a $1 million top prize.

Bettors flew in from all over the country to put down the $10,000 entry fee for the event. A total of 242 entries were listed on the DraftKings leaderboard Saturday morning.

Still, participation is well behind pace to hit the $2.5 million guaranteed prize pool. Registration is open until 4:35 p.m. ET on Saturday. Johnny Avello, director of sportsbook operations at DraftKings, told TheLines this week that the company was prepared for the possibility of overlay and was “OK” with that.

Betting action resumes Saturday and continues through Sunday with the conclusion of the Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints game, at which point the first DraftKings SBNC winner will be crowned.

Day 1 leaderboard

A player under the DraftKings username “johnstorz” led the way after Day 1, turning his original $5,000 bankroll into $30,877.75 on Friday. Johnstorz hit a four-team NBA/NHL parlay for more than $17,000 to take a sizeable lead into Day 2 of the contest. He also nailed a three-team NBA parlay for $7,300.

Meanwhile, 10 players finished the opening day with nothing left in their bankroll. Among those going broke was Alex “Awesemo” Baker, who put his entire $5,000 bankroll on the under in the Atlanta Hawks vs. Philadelphia 76ers game. Baker told TheLines this week: “I think you have to take a very high-variance approach with nearly half the money going to first.” He wasn’t fibbing.

Below is the top 10 on the leaderboard after Day 1. Up-to-the-minute updates can be found here.

Nh Sports Betting Draftkings

Day 2 look-ahead

Draftkings Sports Betting National Championship Leaderboard

With Sunday betting for this event limited to only the two NFL playoff games, this expanded Saturday menu of sports and games could be the decider in crowning the first champion of this event. Here’s what bettors will find on the DraftKings Sportsbook app:

Soccer: Seven English Premier League (EPL) games plus four La Liga matches create a juicy soccer slate for bettors. How many contestants were up at the crack of dawn Saturday betting on the West Ham vs Arsenal game? We’ll have updates on that during the Day 2 Live Blog on Saturday.

Draftkings Sportsbook

NFL: Two divisional round games expect to capture the most attention from entrants in the Sports Betting National Championship. No shortage of props and in-game options for these games. The football action kicks off at 4:35 p.m. ET with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Indianapolis Colts. The Rams and Cowboys will follow in Los Angeles at 8:15 p.m. ET.

NBA: Eight NBA games also figure to be popular with bettors. The pro hardwood action starts at 3:30 p.m. ET with the Pistons and Clippers. Bulls/Jazz and Hornets/Kings close out the Saturday schedule at 10 p.m. ET.

NHL: The 12-game NHL schedule starts at 1 p.m. ET with a pair of east coast games in New York and New Jersey. Puckheads have plenty of options to fire on Saturday.

College basketball: Here’s where the sharps could separate themselves. More than 140 Division 1 games are scheduled for Saturday. While not all of them will be on the betting board, regular college hoops bettors could find an edge here. The first games tip off at noon ET.

Golf: The third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii tees off in the afternoon. A wide selection of player props and matchups are available as well as live winner odds.

How the DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship works

Draftkings Sportsbook

  • All participants must be located in New Jersey when placing bets for the contest.
  • The buy-in for the event is $10,000 (more than 80 qualified on DraftKings leading up to the event). Each participant begins with a DK-funded $5,000 bankroll. The remaining portion of the buy-in goes toward the prize pool (minus a $300 contest fee).
  • Bets can be placed on any sport on the DraftKings app Friday or Saturday. However, on Sunday only the two NFL divisional playoff games are available for the championship event. Betting closes upon the kickoff of the second NFL divisional playoff game on Sunday.
  • Players must wager at least $1,000 on Friday and Saturday, and at least $2,000 on Sunday.
  • All types of bets are in play, including straight bets, parlays, teasers, and props.
  • Those requirements must be met in order for participants to retain a spot on the official leaderboard and qualify for the $1,000,000 grand prize, or for the subsequent payouts for lower finishes.
  • The player with the biggest bankroll at the end of the weekend is determined the grand prize winner. Subsequent spots on the leaderboard will also be determined by bankroll size.
  • The prize pool will be at least $2.5 million, with each direct buy-in above 531 entries increasing the prize pool by $4,700 apiece.
  • Only one entry is allowed per person.
  • All players take home the sum total of their bankroll at the end of the weekend. Those who have kept their leaderboard eligibility are also awarded any money they’ve earned through that channel.

Follow TheLines for updates

Our team will be on site Saturday and Sunday to cover the remainder of the DraftKings Sports Betting Championship. Follow the live blog here at TheLines for leaderboard updates, player interviews, photos and videos from the event, and more. And be sure to follow TheLines on Twitter for frequent updates all weekend.