DraftKings Announces Player Rewards Changes

Saying the former system failed to engage an acceptable number of players, DraftKings is overhauling its loyalty program, beginning with Fridays contests. The changes, which were officially announced by the company Thursday morning, include a significant shift in the way Frequent Player Points are accrued. Players will now be awarded FPP at a rate of

Saying the former system failed to engage an acceptable number of players, DraftKings is overhauling its loyalty program, beginning with Friday’s contests.

The changes, which were officially announced by the company Thursday morning, include a significant shift in the way Frequent Player Points are accrued. Players will now be awarded FPP at a rate of one point per dollar spent, down from three points per dollar previously.

More FPP will be available through various “missions” or tasks which players may complete for a predetermined prize. The missions will vary from day to day and could range from simply entering a certain tournament to winning a specific contest type, DraftKings Chief Operations Officer Matt Kalish said.

“Daily missions will now be a part of the rewards program,” he said. “One day it might be to play in a $3 baseball tournament, one day it might be to build a lineup in an NBA contest. We’ll mix it up for players and present them with different objectives, different challenges.”

FPP is DraftKings’ version of a player loyalty program. It rewards repeat players with points that can be redeemed on the site for contest tickets or merchandise. Most daily fantasy operators offer some version of the system, which is designed to be a player retention tool.

While the change to more missions-based accrual may help DraftKings attract and keep more players—and therefore create a stronger player ecosystem—high-volume players are not likely to be happy with a dramatic cut to their earned benefits.

DFS’s biggest players are typically among the most-engaged in player loyalty programs and count FPP among their winnings or to offset losses.

Immediate reaction to the announcement Thursday was overwhelmingly negative.

Still Kalish says, the previous system wasn’t producing satisfactory results for DraftKings, where less than 10 percent of players on the site have ever used FPP.

“What we’ve seen from the contest entry FPP program alone, is that it never really took off from an adoption standpoint. Everyone is included in the program, but most people don’t think about it at all and less than one in 10 users has ever gotten value out of their FPPs in the store. That’s not good enough. We’ve got other programs and promotions that people are excited about, and we think we can do a lot better so that players get the most out of their rewards experience on DraftKings.”

DraftKings has experimented with “Missions Week” in the past—during the 2015 MLB season and after Week 1 of the 2015 NFL season. Each was well-received among players Kalish said.

“It’s something that’s been very successful,” he said. “We’ve seen huge adoption rates and it’s something we want to continue to do as part of this program. We think it can help us move from place where less than 10 percent of players are involved, to our objective, which is where 80 or 90 percent of players are engaging in our rewards program.”

What else is new?

Bonus tiers: Players will be placed into one of four tiers based on the number of points earned in the previous month. The threshold for the lowest tier is 1,000 points, with entry to the highest tier set at 20,000 points. For each tier, DraftKings will hold free contests with prize pools totaling over $150,000 each month, Kalish said. The top-tier contest prizes will account for $100,000 of that sum.

Flash bonuses: Starting Friday, the game lobby will include added-value contests in which the regular prize pool will be supplemented with contest tickets and other prizes. Kalish said “Flash bonuses” will be launched with a high number of added-value games, with similar contests to be included on daily slates “very frequently” going forward.

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