Events

Overview

DraftKings, the digital sports entertainment and gaming company, invites graduate students and those attending the virtual conference to enter their Sports Gaming Innovation Challenge! Graduate students from around the country will be tasked with creating and presenting a new sports gaming concept to DraftKings. The proposed idea must integrate with the DraftKings fantasy or sports betting application and must pertain to one of the following topics:

• A new fantasy sport
• A new way to play fantasy for a current sport offered on DraftKings (DraftKings offers NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, Golf, Soccer, MMA, NASCAR, Tennis or eSports)
• A new way to bet on a sport on DraftKings Sportsbook.

The top three teams will have their pre-recorded final presentations featured during the conference and the top place winner’s presentation will also be showcased in the MIT newsletter. For more information on challenge guidelines, click here.

Eligibility

In order to register successfully, an individual or team must adhere to the following eligibility criteria:

• A team may include up to three individuals (i.e. one, two, or three applicants)
• Each applicant must be a graduate student
• Each applicant must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age
• Each applicant must be U.S.-based

**Accepted applicants will be able to purchase student tickets, which are highly discounted from regular priced tickets and otherwise sold out**

Registration

Registration for the DraftKings Sports Gaming Innovation Challenge is now closed. Individual or team registration/presentation submission must have been completed by March 12, 2021.‍

Please contact draftkingschallenge@sloansportsconference.com if you have any questions. We also encourage participants to subscribe to our newsletter in order to receive the latest information about the conference!

Timeline

Registration & Submission Deadline -- March 12, 2021

Top 5 Teams Notified -- March 19, 2021

Top 5 Presentation Recording Submission Deadline -- March 26, 2021

Top 3 Presentations Conference Showcase -- April 8, 2021

Prizes

The event finalists are eligible to compete for the top three prizes, which will be awarded following the 2020 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference:

• First place: $3,000 team cash prize, plus internship with DraftKings (exact dates to be decided upon by DraftKings) and presentation featured during the conference and in the MIT newsletter
• Second place: $2,000 team cash prize and presentation featured during the conference
• Third Place: $1,000 team cash prize and presentation featured during the conference

2021 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC) DraftKings (DK) Sports Gaming Innovation Challenge Guidelines      

Presentation Timing

Each finalist will have 5-7 minutes to record a walkthrough of their presentation. Please be mindful of your presentation time and do not exceed the set limit. At the end of their presentation each finalist will also record their response to a specific question previously provided by the product experts at DraftKings.

Evaluation Criteria

Each judge will evaluate a finalist’s presentation using the following criteria:

• Innovation/Ambition
• User Interface/User Experience
• Overall Quality
• Quality of Pitch/Impact
  

Judges

Entries will be judged prior to the conference by product experts from DraftKings. 

Filming and Photography

The DraftKings Sports Gaming Innovation Challenge is a recorded event. The top three presentations will be featured during the virtual conference with the top finalist presentation also shared via the MIT newsletter. 

Attire

Please note that the dress code for the conference is business casual.

Resources

A/V personnel from MIT will be available for the top five finalists to record and edit their presentations. 

Registration/Presentation Submission Details

To register, please submit your final DraftKings presentation in PowerPoint format to draftkingschallenge@sloansportsconference.com no later than Friday, March 12, 2021 at 11:59 pm ET with the subject line “MIT SSAC: DraftKings Sports Gaming Innovation Challenge Presentation - <university></university>”. If selected as a finalist, presentation recordings must be submitted before 11:59pm ET on Friday, March 26th. 

Social Media

We encourage you to share your excitement for the #SSAC21 #DKInnovationChallenge presented by @DraftKings. Additionally, tag your Tweets and posts with #SSAC21 to share your favorite and most memorable moments from the conference.

Still have questions? Please fill out your question here and someone from the SSAC organizing team will reply back!