Mexico Daily Fantasy Sports Platform Gains Support from International Stars

Posted on: March 16, 2022, 07:09h. 

Last updated on: March 16, 2022, 10:47h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Just a few months ago, Mexico’s own daily fantasy sports platform Draftea was operating in beta mode. Things are now advancing well, and new funding from a number of international sports stars will help.

Draftea
Draftea CEO Alán Jaime with former Mexican soccer player Luis “El Matador” Hernández. Draftea is the official fantasy platform for the Mexican National Team and continues to find more financial support for its DFS service. (Image: Debate)

Draftea is planning on taking Mexico, and possibly all of Latin America, by storm. The company, which bills itself as the “first DFS platform in the Spanish-speaking world,” attracted $13.2 million from the founder and former CEO of FanDuel, venture capital firm Sequoia, and others earlier this year.’

The company just wrapped up a new funding round that attracted a considerable amount of money. In addition, and just as important, it also attracted huge names in the sports world as well.

Draftea began putting together its daily fantasy sports (DFS) platform last year, ready to introduce an exclusive alternative to Mexican sports aficionados. The official fantasy sports platform for the Mexican national soccer team has come a long way since then.

Draftea Finds Target Market

Drafteahas now added another $4 million through an additional funding round. While it already counts on support from FanDuel’s Nigel Eccles, now Draftea’s chairman of the board, the latest round added a number of high-profile athletes. Their status on the global sports stage will prove just as beneficial as the invested money.

We want allies to help us achieve this goal, so now some of the most influential athletes in the world are added, who will provide us with their knowledge, strategies and capacity for sacrifice to achieve success,” states Draftea CEO Alán Jaime.

A press release from the company indicates that former NBA star Pau Gasol, Chelsea soccer star Cesar Azpilicueta, and retired Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas participated in the funding round. In addition, the NBA’s Kevin Durant, through his Thirty Ventures investment firm, invested.

The NFL’s Travis Kelce and Odell Beckham Jr, the latter of whom just won a Super Bowl LVI ring in February, added their names to the list as well. Other backers include Jay-Z, Mantis from the Chainsmokers, sports-centric investment firm Courtside Ventures, and NNS Advisers. The latter is controlled by Nassef Sawiris, the executive chairman of the Premier League’s Aston Villa Football, and a member of the supervisory board at Adidas.

Draftea to Build an Empire

Launching first in Mexico, the platform logically started by catering to the country’s soccer fans. In the Draftea platform, available for Android and iOS devices, users can create their team or teams to compete for prizes.

In addition, it is also a social platform. It offers games and daily interactions throughout the year. This is in contrast to the less-frequent games organized by seasonal DFS platforms that tend to reflect real-world sports schedules.

After I tested the app with [Jaime], I knew they had a winning product in their hands. The opportunity to partner with a platform that will change the trajectory of how Latin America interacts with sports around the world is an honor,” Travis Kelce said.

One of the objectives of Draftea is to have Fantasy leagues around the world. It hopes that by the Qatar 2022 World Cup, the application will be available in much of Latin America.

DFS is starting to grab hold in the LatAm market. Sportito, an operator serving the UK, Brazil and India markets, received approval to enter Mexico in 2020. FanDuel launched its platform in Brazil through a deal with Grupo Global last November.

The global DFS industry is growing at a rate of about 9.5% per year, according to studies. It was worth $20.36 billion in 2020 and is forecast to reach $38.6 billion within three years.

North America and Asia are currently the two largest markets. However, interest in LatAm and European countries is gaining ground. Draftea and others like it will capitalize on that increased growth.