Is DraftKings looking to expand its presence in the daily fantasy sports market?

The sports betting company registered for a new trademark of “DraftKings Cashpicks” on May 11, 2023, related to entertainment services in the nature of fantasy sports competitions. The “intent-to-use” trademark application notes it is for downloadable mobile applications for use in fantasy sports competitions. An intent-to-use application means DraftKings has yet to use the term in commerce, but intends to do so sometime in the next several years.

DraftKings daily fantasy sports (DFS) services are currently live in 21 states, with retail-only options available in both Washington and Louisiana.

What is DraftKings Cashpicks?

The trademark application was first found by an X user earlier this week. X user @MikeDzikowski was the first to find the trademark application on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, publishing it to his feed on Monday, Sept. 18.

The brief trademark application made the rounds on social media, with  sports betting analysts and DFS aficionados openly wondering if the trademark could be a new DraftKings foray into the “parlay vs. the house” type DFS games that Underdog Fantasy and PrizePicks offer throughout the country. With the popularity of this contest type, there have been a flurry of similar apps like PrizePicks such as Boom Fantasy and the recent entry, Betr Picks.

DraftKings declined to comment on the trademark application.

According to the application, the trademark will be used for a type of online fantasy sports mobile application.

“Downloadable mobile applications for use in fantasy sports competitions, namely, mobile applications for managing and participating in fantasy sports competitions,” the company wrote in the application.

The application also notes that the trademark will be used for “entertainment services in the nature of fantasy sports competitions.”

“Entertainment services in the nature of fantasy sports competitions, provided via downloadable mobile software applications, via a website, and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media. Entertainment services in the nature of sports betting,” the company wrote in the application.

No further details were provided in the trademark application.

Trademark Application Acknowledged By DFS CEO

Despite no concrete details provided by the company or in the application, the news caught the eye of one daily fantasy sports operator, as Jeremy Levine, founder and co-CEO of Underdog Fantasy, acknowledged the news on his X social media account.

Underdog Fantasy and PrizePicks have both been at odds with several of the larger sports betting operators in the last few months. In August, Levine took to his social media feeds and implied that both FanDuel and DraftKings have used their influence to create difficulties for the DFS apps and operators.

He also wrote an open letter to the “Underdog Community,” which can be found here.

“FanDuel and DraftKings are coordinating their lobbyists, market power, partners and years of political contributions to try to stop us and other fantasy companies. Why? We’re beating them in fantasy, and we’re not stopping there,” Levine wrote in a tweet.

Both Underdog Sports and PrizePicks have claimed their parlay-style, over-under type offerings fall under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) carveout for games of skill.

Underdog Sports and PrizePicks were both recently asked to alter their offerings in Alabama and ordered to exit the Wyoming market after regulators ruled their offerings were too close to sports betting.

In a recent New York State Register update, New York regulators rejected a request from a commenter to alter the state’s proposed DFS rules to allow for such contests offered by PrizePicks and Underdog Sports.