As it stands right now, the DraftKings Dish TV deal isn’t much more than a way to activate an Internet script. With a little more innovation, however, this partnership could play a major role in making New Jersey sports betting a hallmark of consuming live sports.
The two companies announced their partnership Wednesday, marking a first in a couple of ways. If they’re able to fully flesh it out, there could be many copycats in the coming years.
Details on the DraftKings Dish TV deal
As Dish continues to lose pay-TV subscribers by the thousands partially due to ever-rising costs for consumers, offering new or updated amenities within the service becomes crucial. When Dish inevitably raises its price to access its satellite television feed again, it will have a DraftKings application to include in its sales pitch of “no, really, we didn’t just decide to charge you more for the same service that you used to get at the old price.”
Within the Dish TV Hopper platform, subscribers will soon find the app. It isn’t a fully functional DraftKings app akin to that which New Jerseyans have on their mobile devices, however.
In fact, cell phones and tablets are crucial components of the process. Here’s how it will work.
Let’s say you’re watching a Brooklyn Nets game and you want to see where the live betting lines are at. All you have to do is say, “launch DraftKings” to your remote or select DraftKings from the App Menu.
On your screen will appear live odds from an array of NCAA men’s basketball, NBA, and NHL events. If you see a market you like, you can initiate the bet. That’s all you can do, though.
The DraftKings app on your Dish TV will then send a text message to the number connected to your Dish TV account. From there, you’ll complete the process of placing your wager using the DraftKings app on that device.
You can also set recordings and watch live sports that correspond with bets you have already placed or that pertain to a DraftKings daily fantasy sports entry. The limitations of this platform may make it kind of superfluous right now, but with a little work, it could become essential.
Limited and redundant
Really, the only benefit of this application is that you can browse some of DraftKings’ markets without having to take your eyes off the game. Dish TV apps can operate in a picture-in-picture format.
There’s really nothing stopping you from just pulling up the DraftKings Sportsbook app on your phone as you’re watching the game. On that device, you can go through the entire process of selecting the bet you want, no initial text message necessary.
Additionally, accessing DraftKings that way gives you a fuller experience. Right now, if you’re watching an MLB, European soccer, or PGA event, the app on your Dish TV isn’t of much use for betting purposes.
Another downside of going through your satellite service to place your bet is that by the time you access the odds for in-game markets on your phone, the lines may have moved. So, you may not be as keen to finish the wager as you were when you initiated the process.
Still, this has a lot of potential. These two companies will mostly realize it as technology improves.
What the future could hold
There are two important reasons it’s a good thing you can’t complete the process of placing a bet completely using your Dish TV satellite console currently. Technology can help with both.
The first is responsible gambling concerns. Minors – and people with compulsive gambling issues – can work TV remotes. Requiring the second step, with all the Know Your Customer tools in the smartphone app, greatly reduces the chance of a vulnerable person gambling. Obviously, it’s also against the law for anyone under 21 or on a self-exclusion list to gamble.
The other reason is that the Dish TV consoles probably aren’t capable of providing the same level of verification that smartphones and tablets are. That is something that could eventually change.
If that ever becomes the case, then you might someday be able to place a bet on your TV without having to take your eyes off the game. If Dish and DraftKings can figure that out, everyone else in the industry will rush to replicate it.
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