Jason Somerville Signs with DraftKings
According to Legal Sports Report, run by the same guys as Online Poker Report, Jason JCarverSomerville (pictured) has signed a “partnership deal” with DraftKings. He’ll continue to be affiliated with the world’s largest online poker room, PokerStars, as well.
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Legal Sports Report outlined the deal, which will see Somerville promote all of the brands he’s associated with seemingly in harmony: “The deal will see Somerville promote DraftKings across Run It Up (RIU), the overarching brand for Somerville’s universe of programming, live events, and community of fans, including Somerville’s vertical-leading Twitch channel.”
The site added, “DraftKings will be hosting several online satellite events for American and Canadian players to a RIU live poker event scheduled for this October at the Peppermill Casino in Reno. PokerStars will be hosting similar satellites for the international market.”
Earlier this month, PocketFives reported that Somerville had inked a two-year agreement with the online streaming site Twitch, where he has nearly singlehandedly pioneered the growth of online poker on the platform. RIU streams returned to Twitch on August 16, just over a week after Somerville’s announcement, and he has repeatedly streamed in the days since.
Legal Sports Report explained that Somerville is a relative newcomer to daily fantasy sports, which can also be played on sites like FanDueland Victiv: “Somerville noted that he didn’t even have a DraftKings account until a few months ago. Many of his viewers are likely in a similar position.”
Interestingly, the parent company of PokerStars, Amaya Gaming, recently acquired Victiv and will re-brand the site StarsDraft. As we said, Somerville is affiliated with PokerStars, but will be representing DraftKings, a StarsDraft competitor, instead.
In March, Somerville kicked off a 70-day Twitch campaign for PokerStars, streaming day after day to his legion of fans. He was one of the first people to stream online poker on Twitch and has helped grow poker and Twitch alike with his charisma and accessibility. He apparently expects 500 fans to show up at Peppermill in two months, a testament to just how popular he has become.
US players have been flocking in droves to daily fantasy sports after the industry received a carve-out from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
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