Donovan McNabb and the State of Football
A new daily fantasy sports platform is launching on iOS Sept. 10, turning the daily lineup games into a stock market exchange.
Jock MKT allows users to buy and sell virtual “shares” of athletes in real time during games and tournaments. The platform launched earlier this summer and is available in 34 states.
The exchange-model betting is popular in Europe but not yet allowed at a national level in the U.S. for sports betting, said Tyler Carlin, co-founder of Jock MKT. For now, the exchange model will be practiced in the daily fantasy sports realm, Carlin said.
“People are more attached to players anyway, it’s good to have a rooted interest in players,” Carlin said. “In Europe, 80% of sports betting is in-game markets, which is underserved in the U.S. So the interest is pretty big and gaining more with legislation and the bigger players in Europe and the U.S. devoting time to it.”
Jock MKT recently closed its first round of fundraising. Among the platform’s early investors include DraftKings’ first investor, Ryan Moore, poker professional Brandon Adams and former NFL player Isaiah Kacyvenski, who leads Will Ventures.
“There’s been surprisingly little innovation in the daily fantasy sports space over the last eight years,” Kacyvenski said in a release. “As a former player, I see how much data has improved over that time, and how networks are incorporating more of that information into their live broadcasts.”
“There’s huge potential to translate this growing national appetite for real-time info into a more engaging, and unique in-game fantasy offering,” he added.
Jock MKT offers two playing formats currently: market and contest. In the market format, users buy and sell shares of athletes in real-time and can cash out early by selling those shares to another user or receive fixed payouts based on final rankings. The PGA, NBA and NFL are currently available.
For example, a user could buy into Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson before a game for $10 and potentially sell that share for $20 in the third quarter, coming out $10 ahead.
Contest allows all users to pay the same entry fee to receive a specified number of chips which can then be bid for shares of players in an IPO period. Users can then buy and sell shares to improve their position, with cash prizes awarded to those with the highest final chip count.
Jock MKT had planned to launch around The Master’s in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the strategy. Instead, the platform launched with the free-to-play format when the PGA resumed in June.
“Given it’s weekly nature, a four-day tournament works well for trading,” Carlin said. “It’s a great second screen engagement.”
In July, the paid contests were rolled out. The first contest in June had about 100 friends and family and the sign ups are now around 1,000 people, Carlin said, adding it’s all been through word-of-mouth.
For now, daily fantasy will have to suffice for the platform, but Carlin said regulations could change and provide some long-term potential for Jock MKT.
“We’re starting with player based, but down the road it would be awesome for March Madness,” Carlin said. “Trading on teams that continue on in the tournament — that would be the type of opportunities we’re excited about.”
