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FantasyDraft – Changing the game with rake-free DFS!

By Brian Tulloch

Fabian Campagnolo catches a wave at Dungeons, a famous surfing spot, close to Hout Bay, in Cape Town, on July 26, 2019. - This spot, which produces some of South Africa's biggest waves, needs a variety of conditions like wind, swell size, wave period and direction, that often follows storms, to produce huge waves on an offshore reef, which attracts and challenges the surfers. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP) (Photo credit should read RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images)
Fabian Campagnolo catches a wave at Dungeons, a famous surfing spot, close to Hout Bay, in Cape Town, on July 26, 2019. - This spot, which produces some of South Africa's biggest waves, needs a variety of conditions like wind, swell size, wave period and direction, that often follows storms, to produce huge waves on an offshore reef, which attracts and challenges the surfers. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP) (Photo credit should read RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Fabian Campagnolo catches a wave at Dungeons, a famous surfing spot, close to Hout Bay, in Cape Town, on July 26, 2019. – This spot, which produces some of South Africa’s biggest waves, needs a variety of conditions like wind, swell size, wave period and direction, that often follows storms, to produce huge waves on an offshore reef, which attracts and challenges the surfers. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP) (Photo credit should read RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images) FantasyDraft /

FantasyDraft – Changing the game with rake-free DFS!

FantasyDraft is looking to disrupt the DFS industry by introducing a new concept with “Rake-Free DFS” which will bring a subscription-based model to the popular daily fantasy sports site.

If you are an avid DFS player than you likely have either grown frustrated by the increasing rake fantasy companies have taken in or have heard others take to Twitter to scream their distaste for rake from the virtual mountaintop. For those unfamiliar, rake is simply the difference between the entry fees taken in versus paid out, in other words – the revenue that the DFS sites bring in.

If you play DFS you likely also have seen the teasing over the last month across social media by FantasyDraft that a “wave was coming”  with rake-free DFS and it is now finally here!

On Tuesday, July 30th, FantasyDraft officially rolled out its rake-free platform with a subscription-based model based on monthly entry fees and a 3% processing fee on all deposits.

https://twitter.com/2lockSports/status/1156132426504167424

At first glance, for the casual DFS players that are playing under $100/month, this is absolutely the best deal in the industry and one that I would recommend everyone gets in on at least initially to try out the platform. The “step-up” packages to the “Starter” or “All-American” seem incredibly reasonable considering the volume you can play up to and having the ability to change this as you go gives the player some additional flexibility as we go from the MLB season into NFL.

Our very own Brian Tulloch got the chance to sit down with Stephen Krombolz, Co-Founder & CEO of FantasyDraft for a look inside the huge site and industry changes.

Brian Tulloch – Let’s jump right in – the DFS industry has been buzzing ever since the announcement from  FantasyDraft  that Rake Free DFS was coming in July – what can you tell us about this change, exactly how it works and what it means for DFS players?  

"Stephen Krombolz – This is an unprecedented move in Daily Fantasy Sports. FantasyDraft is the first and only company to offer rake-free contests on a subscription model. What this means is that we now pay 100% of entry fees to winners, there is no rake or commission held back. And the best part is anyone can play rake-free on FantasyDraft, the only requirement is that you be a member. We have 7 membership levels suitable to a broad range of players including our free PlayersFirst plan. This is an absolute game changer for the DFS industry"

What drove the change for  FantasyDraft - why is this something you wanted to do now and do you see this being a disruption in the industry?  

"We spent a lot of time analyzing the market, and it became very apparent that the biggest area of frustration from avid players is ever-increasing rake. As the industry has matured, rake has continued to increase. This has created an environment where only the very best players can generate a profit over time. Most DFS players don’t realize it, but over time they’ll lose around 30% of their bankroll to rake.That’s good for DFS operators, but bad for players. So, we asked ourselves how we could capitalize on this and disrupt the marketplace, while also putting out a product that is good for the DFS community. Where we landed is a membership-based, rake-free daily fantasy platform which is now live on FantasyDraft.We believe our new model hits the trifecta – it’s disruptive, provides for a sustainable business model, and addresses a need in the marketplace. This change is great for DFS players, we expect to see our number grow substantially leading into NFL. More players, bigger contests and of course more money being paid out to winners with rake-free contests."

One of the things that ultimately drove me personally to  FantasyDraft  and many others is the player’s first mentality. I am not someone who mass multi enters, I like building my lineups by hand and doing my research and was tired of competing against 150 computer-generated lineups each night – with the players in mind, how do you think this change benefits players at all levels – those who play one lineup for $1 and those who play for larger stakes?  

"Great question.We were very mindful of making sure we offered plans suitable for all levels of DFS play. For the casual players who isn’t interested in paying a monthly membership fee we have out free PlayersFirst plan that allows up to $100 in entry fees per month. For more avid players we have plans with monthly entry fee limits ranging from $1,000 up to $10K, $25K and even unlimited. Right now we have two free options to play rake –free on FantasyDraft, our PlayersFirst plans and we are also offering a 7-Day free trial on our Starter plan, so you can play up to $1K in entry fees with no obligation to pay a monthly fee. We welcome everyone to come give us a try, we think you are going to like it!"

FantasyDraft customer service has always been, in my opinion, the standard in the industry – you actually listen to the players and engage with them each day. How do you anticipate your ability to interact/communicate with players as this new change rolls out and how will you look to get feedback from the players with this new change rolling out?  

"Thank you for that, we take a lot of pride in being responsive to our players and the industry as a whole. Even though our business model is changing to a rake-free subscription model, there will be no change from a customer experience standpoint.  We will continue to listen to our players and incorporate changes based on their feedback via our social platforms, industry forums, and our customer service queue. Our business was built on the foundation of Players First, that isn’t going to change."

The DFS industry has been one of constant change seemingly since its arrival – with issues of legality at times, but with sports betting and DFS becoming legal in more states how do you see the future of FantasyDraft  and the industry-changing as we go forward?  

More from DFS

"With the roll out of legalized sports-betting millions more fans are engaging on a much deeper level with sports and the players they love. This of course is good for all sports related businesses including DFS and we intend to capitalize on that momentum. Our players can expect to see more products rolled out that blur the lines between DFS and Sports betting. Having said that we will always stay true to our core of being a fantasy first company, along those lines we are also launching a new Commissioner League product for NFL that combines the best of season long fantasy with weekly DFS. In short there are a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline!"

As someone who runs a DFS company – is there something that the common player would be surprised to know about things behind the scenes? Having a business background in sales/marketing/BD as you had prior to  FantasyDraft  - was there anything that surprised you about the DFS industry when you stepped behind the desk?  

"We built FantasyDraft from the ground up starting in April of 2014 launching in November of that year. It goes without saying it has been an exciting ride, no two days have been the same. In the initial years when there was some uncertainty about the future of the industry, saying it was stressful would be an understatement. But that’s what running a start-up is all about, so you have to embrace it. Looking back, I would say the most surprising thing about the industry is how much we had to learn in those early years and that no matter what your plan for the future it is not going to be what you think. You have to be able to adapt and change on the fly or you will not survive which is great motivation!"

A very big thank you to Stephen and the team for giving us at FanSided Fantasy some time to break down this exciting news for the DFS industry. If you are looking to give FantasyDraft a try – well, now is the time  – head on over and get in the game now! The wave is here!

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