DraftKings Introduces CS:GO Fantasy Betting Game

With most sports having stopped completely, DraftKings has ramped its esports offer, introducing a new daily fantasy game for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The bookie is one of the many to do so.

DraftKings Adds New Esports Fantasy Game for CS:GO

DraftKings has launched a new fantasy esports game based on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The game was announced in a tweet on March 27 on the sportsbook’s official social media channel. Esports fans seem to have liked the announcement, approving of the latest opportunity to calibrate their bets. Previously, DraftKings added Rocket League, a new esports markets for fans to bet on.

The latest addition is a direct respond to the coronavirus outbreak which has reduced the total number of markets sportsbooks and fans have as active options. With revenue taking a plunge and even popular organizations such as DAZN reporting issues, esports has been a buoy in the choppy seas of uncertainties brought around by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Fake A and rush B. You heard the orders–CS:GO is now on DraftKings.

Draft your team here (and make sure you get a proper AWPer in there, please): https://t.co/bU2o1fQmVS pic.twitter.com/Q5eDraZuYT

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) March 27, 2020

One upside has been the full-scale embracing of electronic sports markets, with websites intensifying their coverage of viable wagers. League of Legends Fantasy and now CS: GO fantasy betting are among two of the markets the company will rely on in the coming weeks.

Just like with any regular fantasy competition, all players are sourced from different leagues and a team consists of five recruits as well as a captain slot.

Esports are just part of the offer, as the betting provide covers extensive markets, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and Major League Baseball (MLB), but the novel coronavirus has made these markets temporarily inaccessible.

Sportsbooks haven’t been the only ones struggling to find an alternative to dipping interest. Many mainstream sports organizations have been pushing for alternative events. F1 has completely switched to e-series, as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix had to be cancelled until the virus epidemic blows over.

Esports Embraced by Sportsbooks and Sports Bodies

In the meantime, NASCAR has formed an iRacing Invitational Series which garnered 1.33 million viewers. Fox has even added the series to FS1, paying homage to the spreading popularity of esports at a time they are among the few events still active.

FortuneJack and Sportsbet.io have been two other brands that have decided to branch out into esports in a bid to fill the gap. Sportsbooks have reported that traffic has gone up significantly, not least of all, because the majority of esports sportsbooks actually offer streaming of most events.

DraftKings offers multiple markets, but its main focus remains well within the most popular esports titles. Recently, Nevada also approved bets on CS:GO, a first for the Silver State, which has been conservative insofar as esports betting goes.