FanDuel teams up with the NBA to launch in-play fantasy sports app

American National Basketball Association has unveiled a new Daily Fantasy Sports app called InPlay, which enables players to “play live during NBA action”. The product went live on Thursday 22 December, with the fixtures between the LA Lakers and Miami Heat, and the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers marking the app’s debut. Able to play in either a public contest or a private game with friends, users pick a single team, and then pick one player to track for each of the game’s four quarters, able to activate a 48 second “Turbo Boost” at any time that significantly accelerates the selected player’s point scoring. According to the NBA: “Unlike traditional fantasy games, NBA InPlay users’ success is directly tied to viewing live NBA games and making in-game, real-time decisions in order to win.” Tom Griffiths, Chief Product Officer for FanDuel, said: “Our mission is to offer sports fans exciting new ways to engage with the players and teams they love, through innovative sports entertainment products. “NBA InPlay is the first product of its kind and we are proud to partner with the NBA to give fans a revolutionary new way to enjoy the live viewing experience.” Melissa Brenner, Senior Vice President of the NBA, said: “We are always looking at ways to enhance the viewing experience, drive people to tune in to our broadcasts and increase the time spent watching live games. “NBA InPlay has the potential to meet these objectives while offering our fans an engaging, new way to experience the game.”