WNBA And FanDuel Announce League’s First-Ever One-Day Fantasy Game


NEW YORK, May 11, 2017 – The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and FanDuel announced today a new partnership that will make FanDuel the official, one-day fantasy partner of the WNBA.  The partnership is FanDuel’s first with a women’s professional sports league and the WNBA’s first official one-day fantasy offering.

Beginning with the WNBA’s 21st season, which tips off on Saturday, May 13, fans will be able to access the “Official One-Day Fantasy Game of the WNBA” and compete against others for daily WNBA prizes, including courtside tickets to regular season games, unique WNBA experiences, WNBA merchandise and memorabilia.  The official one-day fantasy game, available throughout the entire WNBA regular season and playoffs, will be free to all fans via FanDuel.com, the FanDuel app and WNBA.com.

“We are constantly looking to innovate by finding new opportunities to engage with our passionate fans and introduce the WNBA to wider audiences,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders.  “This partnership with FanDuel and our new one-day fantasy game will be a fresh, unique way for fans to further connect with their favorite WNBA players and teams throughout our season.”

“The NBA has been a fantastic partner as we continue to build out our consumer offerings to appeal to all sports fans,” said Nigel Eccles, CEO of FanDuel. “We first launched NBA contests in 2009, debuted NBA InPlay late last year, and are now extending our basketball offerings to include WNBA, giving our users even more opportunities to play fantasy contests.”

Along with the official one-day fantasy game, during the first week of the WNBA season fans will have access to the “WNBA Tip-Off Challenge.”  Between May 13-20, fans may enter a series of special edition, free-to-play games for the chance to win WNBA Store credit, tickets to WNBA games, and a grand prize fan experience including courtside seats to the WNBA Finals with a basketball legend.  To enter the WNBA Tip-Off Challenge, visit www.fanduel.com/wnba-tipoff.

In 2014, the NBA and FanDuel unveiled the first, “Official One-Day Fantasy Basketball Game of the NBA,” marking FanDuel’s first strategic partnership with a major professional sports league.

The 2017 WNBA regular season runs through Sept. 3.  For more information on the WNBA and game tickets visit www.wnba.com. To learn more about WNBA contests on FanDuel visit www.FanDuel.com/fantasy-wnba.

About the WNBA

The WNBA – which features 12 teams and is the most successful women’s professional team sports league in the world – is a unique global sports property combining competition, sportsmanship, and entertainment value with its status as an icon for social change, achievement, and diversity.  The league, which counts Verizon as its league-wide marquee partner, tips off its 21st season on May 13, 2017.

Through WNBA Cares, the WNBA is deeply committed to creating programs that improve the quality of life for all people, with a special emphasis on programs that promote a healthy lifestyle and positive body image, increase breast and women’s health awareness, support youth and family development, and focus on education.  For more information on the WNBA, log on to www.wnba.com.

About FanDuel

Founded in 2009, FanDuel has redefined fantasy sports in pursuit of its mission of making sports more exciting. FanDuel offers a multitude of one-day, weekly and season-long game options for NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and the EPL, with new public and private leagues forming daily, ranging in size from two to thousands of players. FanDuel is the Official Partner of the NBA and has multiple deals with NFL and NBA teams, driving fan engagement, hosting numerous live events and creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for sports fans throughout the year. Founded by Nigel Eccles, Lesley Eccles, Tom Griffiths, Rob Jones, and Chris Stafford, FanDuel is based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles, Orlando, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. FanDuel has raised funding from KKR, Google Capital, Time Warner/Turner Sports, Shamrock Capital, NBC Sports Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Pentech Ventures, Piton Capital and Bullpen Capital.