Reports out of Nevada as the week ends indicate that the partnership between the World Series of Poker and daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings has been put on hold following the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s finding that DFS constitutes gambling and should not continue in the state without the appropriate licence.
DraftKings had already announced the suspension of its Nevada activity, and the World Series of Poker relationship forms part of this.
The severing of the ties between the two organisations was immediately obvious online, where DraftKing’s lobby showed no WSOP satellite activity, and observers speculated that advertising and sponsorship agreements are also likely to be casualties.
DraftKings has been very active in the WSOP context over the past three years, sponsoring many WSOP satellite entries, and its withdrawal will be felt.